Betrothed
by Methos2523
Summary: A bad situation and a few forgone conclusions turn a small mistake into a rather large mistake, bringing the families of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, and Daphne Greengrass, the Ice Queen of Slytherin, together. To be bonded by blood and magic...
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE: Betrothed**

 **DISCLAIMER:** All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine... I'm just here for the fun.

 **An:** While away working I don't have much time to devote to my main "Spellbound" fic, so this is just a little fic I'll be writing from time to time to get my creative side out when I can't work on Spellbound… won't be as long or serious as Spellbound, but hopefully people enjoy the more relaxed pace of it

* * *

 **Greengrass Manor**  
 **Honley, West Yorkshire**  
 **December 14, 1994**

The past week had been rather stressful for Mugwump Aurora Greengrass, and for once it hadn't been her duties on the International Confederation that had been causing her restless nights, or the light duties that were enforced on her as an honorary Minister as a member of the ICW, but rather the thought of her eldest daughter's upcoming birthday and what it meant for her, and for the family.

Not that she'd ever admit it, at least not in public, but she was afraid. For herself and her daughters. She wasn't an idiot, she remembered the last war, though she'd been only four years out of Hogwarts at the time. She remembered how it started, how it felt. How the back handed deals and favours in The Ministry started things before anyone actually spoke of how dark things were getting. She'd noticed the same pattern occurring again lately. Darker families banding together, collecting favours and influence, putting family members in strategic positions in The Ministry where they'd shown no interest in those positions before. It was obvious to anyone with their eyes open that darker times were coming for them all.

Daphne would be fifteen in just over six months, and already contracts asking for her signature on a betrothal contract, though that was a polite term for what they actually were, demands were more like it. They'd been coming through with the owls every morning. Contracts at first from Nott, Goyle, even Malfoy, then others. All had been tossed into the fire, giving her the small pleasure of watching the offending 'offers' burn to a crisp.

It was an emotional response, one strictly she shouldn't have indulged. She should have kept the contracts and used them as leverage, she knew at least some of the offers were so offensive to an old and noble house like hers, that leaking them to The Prophet or even letting the rumour of them get out, would cause the family involved untold embarrassment. Though that would have meant having the contracts in the house even longer, where perhaps Daphne, or Morgana forbid, even Astoria could have seen them, and worst still offending the House in question and making their next 'offer' even worst by comparison in response.

The idea that young Astoria could have known about the disgusting offers in the contracts made her shudder as she looked at the pile of parchment on her desk. She needed to get this sorted, and a suitable suitor found for Daphne. One from an equally old house, with the money and reputation to protect her, but also one that wouldn't treat her daughter like property or abuse her like she knew Daphne was afraid the older darker families would.

Sadly, that was turning into more than a little problem as she looked through the various names she'd managed to cobble together. The entire Sacred Twenty-Eight had been pretty much crossed off her list altogether. They either had no male heirs in Daphne's age range that were suitable, didn't have the name or money needed to protect Daphne, or were of the 'darker' persuasion of houses, and would likely demand things from Daphne, or in the contract, that neither her eldest daughter, nor her, would be comfortable doing or paying.

That left very slim pickings sadly, which was the current cause of her problems.

Her quill rested on the shortlist of names she had scrawled out so far, the name at the bottom could work, the Longbottom's were an ancient and noble house, though their money and influence had wained in the last decade with the suffering Alice and Frank were going through after the last wizarding war. They might be suitable, and would likely be amenable to a contract that would protect Daphne from abuse and give her the freedom she deserved, but it was very unlikely the Longbottom house would be able to provide protection and safe harbour for Daphne, and Astoria if need be. She drew her quill through the 'Longbottom' name, scratching it from her list.

Weasley was another name she tapped her quill by, thinking idly about the idea before drawing a line through it and tapping the nib against the parchment in frustration. The Weasley's had neither the prestige, money, land or reputation to offer Daphne protection and a good life. They were good people, she knew as much from her dealings with Arthur at The Ministry, but while they were an old house, they Weasley family weren't considered noble or respected as such.

No, A House from The Sacred Twenty-Eight certainly wasn't possible, she was sure of it now. Most of the Sacred Twenty-Eight were blood purists and tended towards the darker arts, the ones that didn't had had their families and influence systematically attacked over the years by the darker families, leaving them in no position to financially commit themselves to protecting another house. Which meant looking either for a new house, though that would leave Daphne open to political threats and influence, or an existing House with no obligations or ties to the darker families.

Ideally, for Daphne's sake, she would like to keep the family pure. A Muggle family, while removing Daphne from the magical world for a few months per year, would offer no protection at all during her remaining Hogwarts years and beyond, and would likely result in Daphne having even more problems at Hogwarts, problems that would grow when families realised Daphne, Astoria and herself had no political protection around themselves, and they would end up protecting her intended family rather receiving the protection they so desperately needed.

No, it had to be someone around the same age as Daphne obviously, magically powerful enough to protect her, but with enough integrity that Daphne would be safe with them and wouldn't be open to abuse. The Greengrass house was an old and noble house, though it wasn't one that had done as well as others. While politically Aurora Greengrass had brought the family name to new heights of power and influence, she, like her husband before he'd passed during The War, were honest to a fault, and like other light minded families, the family finances had suffered over the years in the world of the corrupt Ministry.

She knew the 'offers' for Daphne's hand were little more than thinly veiled threats, the corrupt houses wanted an 'in' with the Greengrass family, no doubt to use their political influence, either at The Ministry or further their goals in the International Confederation of Wizards. They all knew that she didn't have the money to protect her daughter from their attentions forever, and as it was with all the old houses, marriage contracts would keep being brought to her attention until she was forced into one. It was well known that Cryus had died without leaving a legitimate heir, and without an heir or a betrothal contract gracing Daphne with permission to keep the Greengrass name in marriage for her sons to inherit, the House would come to an end, leaving both her and her daughters without the protection an Ancient and Noble House afforded.

The worst thing was, Daphne knew all of this. She'd been a smart girl even when she was younger, and even before she'd started Hogwarts she'd known this day would come. She'd known what was coming, and how the sons of other families would try and get close to her, to use her or to try and trap her in a contract before she was ready. In the year before she was due to start Hogwarts, at the tender age of eleven, Daphne had already become colder, more distant, cutting herself off and slowly developing a cold 'Ice Queen' persona to protect herself.

Aurora had nearly cried when Daphne had come home from Hogwarts after her first year, it hadn't been her daughter that had returned to her, but the Ice Queen of Slytherin. It had been so long now since she'd heard her daughter laugh, or cry, or lose her temper, or show any emotion behind that fiercely controlled mask.

She knew why she'd done it, cutting her emotions off like that, refusing to let herself feel. She knew what was in her future, knew that one day she would be married off to someone, very likely someone she either didn't know, didn't care for, or outright despised, a future with little chance of love and no chance of happiness. With that sort of future in hand, she could understand why she felt it was easier to close herself off from the world.

"Oh Cyrus," Aurora whispered, looking up from her parchments to the portrait of her late husband hanging in the office, looking down sternly at the room with his cold blonde hair died back in the traditional manner of a House Lord. Daphne had taken after Cyrus' looks and was striking with her pale blue eyes and blonde hair, while Astoria had inherited his eyes but her auburn hair, and looked more like Aurora did than the pale and statuesque looks Daphne and Cyrus shared with their ancestors.

There were very few options left to her now, Betrothal Contracts were notoriously long negotiations between ancient families, especially pure blood ones, but she needed Daphne to be bound to one by her fifteenth birthday so the year of betrothal could be observed properly in accordance with the old traditions before the bonding of the houses could take place. She needed to have this sorted soon. While Daphne wouldn't be returning home for the traditional Yule holiday break, she could think of no better present she could get her daughter than finding a suitable suitor for her betrothal contract, one that hopefully Daphne could accept as one of the more pleasant options available, and possibly one she might even be able to feel happy with, if not fall in love with.

Sighing to herself at the futility of what she had to accomplish, she put her quill back in the ink pot for now and left it there, stretching as she stood up from her desk and moved around to try and get some feeling back in her legs after the long stretch of looking through the ancient houses registry.

There was little else to do sadly, the suitable names that could offer Daphne protection from the worst houses didn't have the history of an Ancient House that would protect her politically, and the ones that had the clout to protect Daphne and Astoria politically were either the worst of Wizarding society, or so feeble that they lacked the character or integrity to protect them magically.

Dropping her wand on the desk she started massaging her temples in agitation, it was imperative this was sorted out as soon as possible and to a degree where Daphne was given all the protection she could have. At fourteen now boys were already starting to take notice of her, even with her 'Ice Queen' persona intact, and she knew it wouldn't be long before that interest started moving to sexual interest, and the ramifications if Daphne was active, or Morgana forbid, one of the worst houses forced themselves on her and she fell pregnant, well, that would link their houses by blood no matter what else was brought before the Wizangamot.

No, leaving Daphne unprotected simply wouldn't do. She, along with most everyone else, knew that her House didn't have the same 'threat' as others, not since Cyrus died. Aurora had to admit that it was somewhat her fault, with most of her time taken up by the International Confederation, she hadn't had the time or inclination to build a reputation in the Wizangamot to be feared. People knew and respected Cyrus' name, but she was an unknown, a witch who spent more time out of the country than in The Ministry halls, and now that lack of reputation was putting her daughters in danger.

Walking around her study she frowned to herself going back over the names in her mind, none of them really stood out as good arguments, magically powerful enough, or politically powerful enough to protect Daphne as she grew up in the world. The option left to her, if she couldn't find a prospective candidate for a betrothal contract, would be to remove Daphne and Astoria from the British Wizarding World altogether and move the family somewhere where the threats of the darker families would be negated. This was feasible, and she was sure Daphne would find peace in a school like Ilvermorny or Salem in America, perhaps even one of the smaller schools where nobody would look for her, though it would mean leaving her seat on the International Confederation due to the move, and leaving what little security, money and influence the family had left. Despite the threat, she knew her daughter well enough to know that her family history was more important to her than that, and it was why Daphne hadn't even voiced the idea, even knowing what would be in store for her future.

Leaning against her desk she snatched up the copy of the Daily Prophet that was folded neatly and tucked away in the corner of the desk, the House Elves had delivered it earlier in the week as always and while she normally tried to read and keep up with current events, this week had found herself focusing more on Daphne's predicament than bothering with the gossip and rumours that came with the Daily Prophet articles.

"Rita Skeeter Interviews Harry Potter!" She read off the headline aloud with a roll of her eyes, remembering the gossip monger who'd tried to integrate herself into the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference earlier in the year during the summer. Thankfully all the Mugwumps sitting had seen through her rather pathetic ploys, and while they hadn't been able to exclude her from joining The Conference and covering the event as a member of The Daily Prophet staff, they had all made it perfectly clear what they thought about her and her venomous articles.

"Potter..." She frowned to herself, folding the paper over and tapping the name thoughtfully, ignoring her thoughts about the Skeeter woman for the moment. She'd certainly heard of Harry Potter, she doubted there was a wizard or witch alive in Europe who didn't recognise the name, and she remembered the younger James Potter in school. He was obviously from a rich and influential Pure Blood family, that much was easy to notice with the friendship he'd struck up with the youngest Black heir, though she wasn't familiar enough with his family or history to know any more details than the rumours that had floated around. "Penn!" She ordered, moving back to her desk so she could think on this comfortably.

"Yes Mistress?"

She looked up as her house elf faded into existence in the office, looking up at her desk eagerly as though the expected work was a gift he was happy to receive.

"Go to The Ministry Archives, I need everything they have on the Potter family." She ordered firmly.

"Yes Mistress!" The house elf nodded firmly with a wide smile before fading out of existence again with the sound of a bubble being burst.

While she may not visit The Ministry as much as other honorary Ministers, most everyone there knew her name and her house elf, and knew that if he was sent to retrieve information for her it would be for specific reasons and not just gathering information for political manoeuvring like others would try. She was thankful for her families honest reputation at times like this, which gave her a bit more leeway than most, but at the same time felt a bit guilty about using her reputation like this, guilt that was easily assuaged by the knowledge that she was doing this to keep her daughter safe.

Looking back to her parchments she double checked the lists she'd already compiled, Potter definitely wasn't a member of The Sacred Twenty-Eight. His name didn't appear there at all, which meant The House of Potter was either new and not established properly, in which case she could discard the thought altogether, or that it was a reasonably old House, but one that didn't care about blood purity, in which case it might be perfect, depending on the alliances and financial situation of The House.

She flicked her eyes down to read the article in the Daily Prophet while she waited for Penn to return with the parchments she'd requested, not really giving the article much credence as she knew all about Miss Skeeter's hatchet jobs, but hopefully there was enough truth buried between the lines that she would be able to gather a reasonable insight into Mr Potter's personality and see whether his family would actually be willing to deal with a betrothal contract.

"An ugly scar, souvenir of a tragic past, disfigures the otherwise charming face of Harry Potter, whose eyes..."

She trailed off, rolling her eyes as she recognised the style of a Quick-Quotes Quill, and wondered precisely what the 'ugly scar' in question was. She'd heard the rumours about Mr Potter's scar and the death of his family of course, but rumours and Miss Skeeter's article pretty much went hand in hand, and what described here as 'an ugly scar', could simply be something inconsequential to her and Daphne.

She flicked her eyes down to the picture that accompanied the article, eyeing the way the photo of Mr Potter fidgeted nervously as he looked out from the paper as if he didn't want to be there at all. She couldn't see any scars that were visible anyway, none that were disfiguring or unsightly anyway, while Mr Potter did have rather messy and unruly hair, something not uncommon for boys of his age, he wasn't particularly unattractive in any way. A bit skinny for his age, his robes seem to hang off of him a bit unflatteringly as if they were a size or two too big, or bought with room for him to grow into them over the year.

Folding the paper back she moved to ignore the photo for the moment and concentrated on reading the article itself, hoping to gleam some sort of truth about the boy from there. "Tears fill those startlingly green eyes as our conversation turns to the parents he can barely remember..."

Rolling her eyes again she let out a huff of annoyance. "Morgana help me," She muttered to herself, it was plain and obvious that there was very little truth in the article at all, it was padded with irrelevance and poetic prose to cover up the very obvious fact that the interview came across as awkward and badgering. The actual quotes from Mr Potter were few and far between, with Miss Skeeter's prose and opinions filling more of the page than actual information did.

She was about to look back to it, if for nothing else than a distraction for now, before a sparkle caught the corner of her eye and she looked up to see several scrolls of parchment glittering into view, obviously the ones she'd requested Penn retrieve from The Ministry.

"Thank Morgana," She muttered as she tossed the Daily Prophet aside, happy to have something actually relevant to read and research now instead of reading the pathetic prose of that venomous gossip monger. Reaching over she respectfully picked the first parchment scroll up, eyeing the seal that bound it together before pressing her own International Confederation ring to it. It was curious that it had been bound this way, she'd expected a Ministry bind on the documents to prevent them from falling out of The Ministry's hands and into more unscrupulous hands, but an International Confederation seal meant someone further up the chain had sealed these documents away for one reason or another.

She couldn't imagine Mugwump Fawley having sealed the documents, he'd always been more interested in getting his name put on the international task force in the mountains of Tibet, he'd never shown an interest in paperwork or Ministerial work before, and couldn't imagine anyone putting enough pressure on the man for him to do it now.

Which if not Fawley, of the two Mugwums from Wizarding Britain left either her, and she knew she hadn't sealed the documents, or the Supreme Mugwump, which would be a break of decorum. While not illegal in any sense, it was very rare for the Supreme Mugwump to involve himself like this, as his seat was at the head of the International Confederation of Wizards, so to keep himself impartial and beyond reproach it would have fallen to him to nominate either Mugwump Fawley or herself to deal with the documents, rather than doing it himself.

She frowned in thought as the magic around the parchments glittered away, letting them unroll without bindings. Why would Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore have sealed these documents himself, it didn't make sense to her and she could see no reason why the Supreme Mugwump would interfere in what was obviously a Ministerial process.

"Potter," She nodded to herself as she followed the parchment lines that traced The House of Potter back through the ages. It was definitely an Ancient House, with a capital A, going back at least a thousand years, putting them nearly as old as The House of Malfoy or House of Black. Putting one page down she moved over to the next, and then another, then another until she found the origins of The House and the family founders in eleven oh nine. "Linfred of Stinchcombe beget Lord Hardwin the Potter..." Her eyebrows nearly reached her hair line as she read off the Patriarch of the House' name. "Who bonded with Lady Iolanthe Peverell... Daughter of Lord Ulric Peverell, granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell." She whispered as she read the ornate calligraphy on the parchment before whistling aloud at the blood pedigree of the family, ignoring how unseemly the act was.

A House that could be traced back to one of the three Peverell brothers themselves, and if she was reading the family tree correctly, which she was sure she was, left Mr Potter as not only a direct male descendant, but the only legitimate male heir currently alive of the entire family in the Potter line according to all the dates of death next to the family names. Putting the historical ramifications aside for now, as interesting as they were, she put the archived family history down and reached for another scroll, pressing her ring to it automatically as she picked it up ready to continue on with her research.

After nearly an hour of reading it was now clear to her why The House of Potter had been excluded from The Sacred Twenty-Eight, for generations now they were reputably known as Muggle friendly, and Harry Potter himself was half-blood, the first half-blood Potter if these documents were correct, coming from the bonding of James Potter and his muggle-born wife Lily Evans. That definitely put the House of Potter on the side she was looking for, and meant that Mr Potter himself was likely as open as his father was about blood purity, a concept that while seemly ignorant to her, she knew a lot of families stuck by, and with Mr Potter himself as a half-blood, a betrothal contract would be recognised and accepted by all, as she knew even the staunchest of Pure Blood Houses, like the Malfoy's, were not against marrying half-bloods, only muggle-born witches and wizards themselves.

As she continued through the parchments she was convinced that Mr Potter was looking more and more like the perfect candidate to protect Daphne now. His ancient House was certainly beyond reproach politically, any house that could be traced by to The Peverell brothers would have The Ministry's approval for a contract, regardless of the current name of The Houses on it. While Mr Potter himself had no direct political alignment currently, as there was no Lord of the House to take the Wizengamot House Seat, it was obvious from his blood line that he wouldn't be a member of the Blood Purity Traditionalists, and it would be unlikely he would be neutral in matters like these, which left him sitting clearly in the more liberal seats of the argument.

He had money, according to the documents, six vaults worth that were sealed until his seventeenth birthday, along with a single trust vault that was opened to him on his first birthday after the death of his parents, obviously to see him through Hogwarts and pay for anything he needed growing up. Six vaults, that put him in the 'disgustingly rich' categories of the Ancient Houses, possibly even richer than some of the Most Ancient Houses, though she knew from the family history that The House of Potter wasn't old enough to claim that title.

Putting the documents down she frowned to herself in thought. Potter was almost too good to be true. Politically perfect, rich enough to provide protection and livelihood for both Daphne and Astoria. Obviously magically powerful, the fact he was competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament at the age of fourteen definitely put him in a category of his own there, and with absolutely no ties to the darker families that would seek to take advantage of the bonding for their own ends.

No, Potter wasn't almost too good to be true, he was perfect.

It was clear from the documents in front of her that no other family had approached Mr Potter for a betrothal yet, if they had it would have been recorded on the parchments in front of her, but now that she'd read them herself she couldn't imagine it would be long now. He would be turning fifteen a few months after Daphne, and she was sure that by then he would have received at least one, maybe more offers from old families seeking to integrate themselves into The House of Potter. Which meant she had to move fast to secure a safe betrothal for Daphne before anyone else got to him first.

Snatching up the last of the documents she ran her finger down it to find the address that marked his current guardians. This was something she had to handle today, if she could secure Daphne's betrothal to Mr Potter before Yule, an unlikely idea given how long she knew some old families had negotiated betrothal contracts for, then Daphne would be protected from the darker families and be beyond approach by the start of her fifth school year, an idea that almost made Aurora sigh with relief at the thought.

"Muggles?" Aurora raised an eyebrow as she found the guardians listed for Mr Potter. "Unusual," She muttered to herself. It certainly cemented the idea of Mr Potter being in the more liberal side of things, and perhaps explained why Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore had sealed these documents personally, there was no doubt in her mind that families in The Ministry would be falling over themselves to offer Mr Potter a place in their houses as he grew up if they knew he was housed with muggle relatives.

Blood relatives as well, which meant while they weren't magical, they could sign a betrothal contract as blood and legal guardians of Mr Potter until he came of age. She would have to find an existing betrothal contract in her own archives and modify it to fit, but she was pretty sure that she could have something that the Potter guardians would accept, possibly with a financial incentive as well, by the end of the day.

The idea was somewhat unseemly, she could imagine what people would say if they found out she was even thinking about buying the betrothal of Mr Potter to Daphne. Normally it would be the other way around, with the male's family sending the betrothal contract and payment to her, but with Mr Potter raised by muggles she doubted he would know of these traditions, or more likely he simply wouldn't care. Regardless which, the idea of offering money in exchange for his name was unseemly, but would almost guarantee that Daphne was protected, which was was this endeavour was all about.

"Penn," She ordered aloud as she stood up and started making her way out of her office and up to where her 'muggle closet' was to change into muggle accepted clothing.

"Yes Mistress?"

She didn't even pause as the house elf faded into view alongside her as she walked, focusing on what she needed to do before anything else now. "Go to Gringotts, inform the teller to withdraw ten thousand galleons from the family faults, converted into muggle currency, and provide some way of carrying it, muggle acceptable of course."

"Yes Mistress." The house elf replied quickly before fading from view again as she reached the stairs leading up to the third floor of the house where her bedroom and vanity rooms were so that she could get ready for what was possibly her most important meeting of the year.


	2. Chapter 2

**TITLE:** Betrothed

 **DISCLAIMER:** All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine... I'm just here for the fun.

* * *

 **4 Privet Drive**  
 **Surrey, England**  
 **6:18pm**

Vernon Dursley was having a surprisingly good day, through various meetings at Grunnings he'd managed to acquire a new factory for the company to expand towards, after finalising a rather lucrative new deal with an upcoming industrial company to be the sole provider of parts for the next twelve years of business.

Between the rather lucrative day of work, and coming home to his wife's perfectly normal house to enjoy a cooked meal, he was feeling rather pleased with himself today, and had allowed Petunia and Dudley the evening out to shop for new Christmas decorations to replace the old ones, sending Petunia out with instructions to find some tasteful, but overstated decorations for the windows to show the neighbours that they were celebrating Christmas in a perfectly normal way.

He looked up from his newspaper as he put his cup of tea down, hearing a knock at the door that disturbed him from he evening of relaxation. He wasn't expecting anyone tonight, and family weren't expected to arrive for the Christmas holidays until the twenty first when Marjorie would arrive. Folding the paper neatly, as he always did, he placed it on the sitting room table before heading to the door, curious now what this interruption could be.

"Yes?" He answered, plastering his best 'work smile' on as he opened the door politely, standing back as he took stock of the woman stood on his doorstep. She looked rather old fashioned to him, but respectfully so, wearing clothes that while several decades out of date now, were still stylish and elegant, and spoke of old money. His eyes were immediately drawn to her ear rings and necklace, both sparkling with silver and sapphires that added to the woman's sense of style and accentuated, rather than clashed, with her cream blouse and red business coat and skirt.

"Can I help you?" Vernon asked politely, his smile growing wider at the thought of dealing with respectable old money.

"Yes, my apologies for calling on you so late Mr Dursley."

"Think nothing of it," Vernon waved the comment away, smiling again at the politeness of the woman. "What can I do for you today?"

"I have a... proposal for you if you would be interested, one I felt the need to approach you directly with at the earliest opportunity."

"A proposal?" Vernon asked, raising his eyebrow slightly in interest. Business wasn't normally conducted at home, he was rather strict on that normally, but the womans words had definitely intrigued him so far.

"Would you mind if we stepped inside, it seems rather uncouth to discuss things like this on the doorstep."

"Of course, my apologies miss..." Vernon hinted rather unsubtly as he stepped away from the door, letting the woman through as he eyed the rather large and obviously new brief case she was carrying with her as she walked by.

"Greengrass, Minister Greengrass normally, though I believe you can call me Aurora if you like?"

"Aurora then," Vernon plastered on his biggest smile as he closed the door, the word Minister still rattling around in his brain. Very obviously old money, and titled as well. "Please, go through to the sitting room." He smiled, reaching one arm out to direct the lady through.

"Thank you," Aurora smiled back, allowing herself to be directed through to the room from the entrance corridor of the house.

"Brandy?" Vernon offered quickly as he followed her through into the sitting room.

"Not before business," Aurora smiled back, inwardly curious what 'brandy' was but hoping to get into discussions as quickly as possible.

"Very good," Vernon nodded with a small laugh. "No point dulling the brain." He said with a smile, gesturing to one of the floral covered chairs in the room. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you." Aurora nodded, sitting down and placing the briefcase on a small low table that seemed to be in the middle of the room for everyone to use for their drinks and papers.

"I normally don't do business at home, I'm sure you understand keeping things separate from family life." Vernon explained politely.

"Naturally," Aurora nodded back. "Which brings me to the reason I have come to you." She explained, taking a breath and composing herself before reaching over and pressing the locks on the briefcase, flicking the latches so that the lid could open and retrieving the normal quill, the blood quill and two pieces of parchment from the top before she turned the case around so that Mr Dursley could see the contents, keeping an eye on his reaction as she did.

She wasn't disappointed as she saw the mans eyes widen at the contents of the case, while the rather bland looking white and red paper money didn't look like much to her, from the reaction from Mr Dursley told her that it meant a great deal to him. "Just over Thirty Thousand... pounds I believe." She explained, as she shuffled the parchments neatly into her lap, unfamiliar enough with muggle money but knowing enough about people to recognise greed when she saw it.

"Y.. Yes, I'd believe so." Vernon spluttered out.

Aurora managed to keep her composure at the rather undignified response and ignore the way the man had spitted over his moustache when he'd spoken. "Payment directly to you, in exchange for your signature entering Mr Harry Potter into a betrothal contract with my daughter Daphne."

She didn't miss the way Mr Dursley turned from the money, or the way anger flushed to his face at the mention of Mr Potter's name, though he looked for a moment like he was going to start shouting in response to her offer, his gaze was immediately drawn back to the briefcase of money on the table.

"I apologise for my rather uncouth way of approaching you, ordinarily I would wait for Mr Potter to arrive home so things could be discussed with him as well, but there are other obligations I must meet first, and if the unseemly act of buying Mr Potter's hand in this matter will speed things along, then I am aware of the consequences and will face them myself." Aurora announced proudly, steeling herself for the negotiations now and what she would have to give up herself in the contract before Mr Dursley would be willing to sign.

"You wish... you want to buy the boy from us?" Mr Dursley asked, tearing his gaze away from the money to look back to her, a wider smile on his face now than had been when he'd opened the door.

"If you wish to put it like that," Aurora nodded slowly, it was a rather dispassionate way of describing a betrothal contract in her mind, but an accurate one in the modern climate she could imagine.

"For... Thirty Thousand pounds?" Mr Dursley asked, looking back to the briefcase full of money.

"In exchange for your signature binding Mr Potter and my daughter together." Aurora nodded in agreement. "As the mother of the intended, I will of course take care of the bonding celebrations fees as tradition states."

"He wouldn't return here?" Mr Dursley asked curiously.

Aurora raised her eyebrow at that comment, it was obviously subtlety pointing to something else instead of being the direct meaning of the words, possibly hinting at the idea that Mr Dursley wanted a house for Mr Potter as part of the negotiations, which, rather out of the ordinary, wasn't something she hadn't seen in betrothal contracts before. Thinking about it for a moment she thought of several small properties in Yorkshire she could buy for Mr Potter and Daphne in exchange for the bonding, it wasn't something that would be impossible, but would take several months at least. "No." She said, keeping to the subtle conversation that Mr Dursley had used to hint to her about what he wanted. "Would you like that stipulated in the contract?"

"Of course," Mr Dursley smiled widely, his smile faltered a bit when he watched Aurora use a white feathered quill to write down several lines on a piece of parchment, but his fake smile still stayed in place throughout the affair.

"I'm sure you have other thoughts on the matter?" Aurora asked, inwardly cringing at what else the man would demand in exchange for his signature. He was obviously being shrewd about negotiating the matter, hinting at things rather than plainly stating his demands, it was almost political and subtle rather than the brute force language she'd received from the Pure Blood family contracts so far, and she could appreciate that.

"The boy won't return here?"

Aurora nodded, they'd already covered this so it was obvious to her that Mr Dursley was making his will about them having their own house perfectly clear to her. "No he won't." She said with a nod. "You have my word on that."

"The money for the boy?" Vernon asked, nodding to the briefcase.

"Of course," Aurora nodded in agreement, steeling herself for the next round of negotiations. Obviously the man would ask to meet Daphne at some point, or ask about their financial situation to provide for Mr Potter, her mind was going through scenario after scenario trying to think ahead to what else the man would demand in response.

"You need me to sign with one of... those?"

Aurora blinked as he mind stumbled to a halt, she'd been expecting several months more negotiations and for him to request copies of the contract to add his own stipulations to, the contracts would then be argued back and forth for several more months before a suitable compromise could be reached and they would both sign them, never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would actually get a betrothal contract signed the same day.

"Yes, um, sorry, I was just thinking ahead." Aurora said, shaking her head slightly as she reached down for the red contract quill on her lap. They were developed by goblins for negotiations several hundred years ago, and had since found their way into regular contract use, with most wizards and witches much preferring the magical way the quill drew on their own blood for bonding contracts rather than the traditional way of filling an ink pot with their blood in front of witnesses before using it to sign the contracts. "There's nothing else?"

"You assure me the boy won't be returning here?"

Aurora nodded, having got used to the mans subtle hint by now, why he was being so subtle about asking for a house for the two of them she couldn't imagine, but then she didn't really understand muggle culture properly herself, so for now she would just put it down to that and try to understand it later on. He obviously wanted a magically secure house for Mr Potter to be safe in, something he clearly couldn't provide in a muggle neighbourhood. Which meant his repetitive hints were about having a house ready for the two of them by the end of this school year, it would be a rush, but not completely impossible for her to accomplish what was needed.

"Then I'll sign it right now." Vernon smiled, bearing his teeth slightly behind his rather bushy moustache. He eyed the red quill distastefully for a moment as it was handed to him before taking it and nodding as the woman closed the briefcase and rested the parchments on the top of it.

"Here and here." Aurora said in shock at being part to what was the easiest betrothal negotiations she'd ever heard of. "And Mr Potter's legal name here." She said, indicating the three places where she needed Mr Potter's guardian signature on the two pages of parchment.

"Fine," Vernon grumbled as he fiddled with the quill, unused to it's strange feeling in his hand as he reached for the parchments and scribbled his own signature in disgust at the quill and parchment. He eyed the red ink the quill left behind dubiously, ready to start arguing about freakish magic and their stupid ways before biting his tongue, here was a chance for him to be rid of that freak for good, and be paid a good amount of money for it as well, he wasn't going to throw away that opportunity by letting the freak across from him know she was getting to him with her unnatural ways.

He signed his own name twice where indicated before looking for the area where the woman had asked him to fill in the boy's name, seeing the line next to it where it had already been filled in with the name Daphne Laurell Greengrass. He paused for a moment, trying to remember the boy's middle name before he remembered that he'd been named after that idiot magician father of his and scrawling down Harry James Potter in the space, he frowned as the ink glittered for a moment after he finished writing before sealing itself to the page and turning black like the rest of the writing.

"Is that it?" He asked, handing the quill and parchments back to the woman in disgust.

"Yes..." Aurora frowned, torn between elation at how easy it had been to secure a suitable betrothal for Daphne, and her own reaction to the now obvious disgust on Mr Dursley's face. Had been signing away Mr Potter been that much of a hardship for him, he'd obviously wanted a house for Mr Potter and Daphne as he'd requested that in the contract, but when he hadn't asked for anything else before asking to sign the contract she'd thought that it was something he obviously wanted for Mr Potter. Was he aware of the darker times approaching like she was? And was looking to secure his own safety with Mr Potter as well by securing a family bond? It seemed possible, bonding the families would make them stronger than they were apart. With the Potter fortune, blood line and reputation added to her own international influence, it was quite the potent combination.

"Then that will be all," Vernon nodded firmly, laying his hand on the briefcase of money possessively. "You have the boy, he's yours now."

"My daughters and I will..." Aurora started to say, frowning as she tried to think what was actually going on here.

"I don't care," Vernon said sharply as he stood up. "A contract is a contract correct, even in your world?" He practically spat.

"Bound by blood and magic of course," Aurora replied automatically in shock. "Harry Potter is now betrothed to my daughter."

"Then it's done," Vernon nodded. "I'd thank you to leave so I can continue on with my evening." He said firmly.

"As you wish," Aurora nodded, obviously the man was upset about signing the contract and disturbed by the idea, but as he hadn't asked for anything too hard in the negotiations, she couldn't image what had disturbed the man so much. "By your leave then Mr Dursley." She said with a formal bow before collecting the two pages of parchment and two quills, rolling them up in her hand before walking back to the corridor.

"You know the way out." Vernon said gruffly, standing so that he could make sure the freak found the front door and left his house as quickly as possible.

Aurora simply nodded at that, not knowing what else to say as she walked back to the entrance hall to the house and then to the front door, opening it and walking out before closing it behind herself and disapparating away.

* * *

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

 **Highlands of Scotland**  
 **School Library**

Daphne Greengrass looked around the library, making sure she was alone before allowing herself a sigh of frustration. Potions had never been her best subject, and despite Professor Snape's favouritism to her house she'd never managed more than an acceptable in her assignments, with more 'poor' grades than acceptable's. Transfiguration and Arithmancy were the subjects where she shined, with Outstanding grades across both subjects regularly, a fact she was proud of, but her regular results in Potions and History of Magic constantly let her down.

She tapped her fingers on the table before composing herself again, setting her jaw and breathing away her frustrations as she focused on locking her emotions away again. It wouldn't do to let her emotions out now, not when it was the final year of her so called freedom before she would be signed away to another family. No, it was better to keep herself composed, lock those feelings away so that when her mother did finally tell her who she'd be promised to, she would be able to accept the news with decorum and the proper attitude that was fitting of someone of her family.

Sadly for her, her mind didn't want to obey today. The year was coming to an end, and despite her mothers denial, she knew that betrothal contracts would already have started to appear at home, more than likely from one of the boys in her House that had been ogling over her the last few years. Probably Malfoy or Nott, maybe even Zabini.

Repressing a shudder she grimaced at the thought of being betrothed to any of those boys, at least with Malfoy she would simply be a decoration for his arm and a mother to however many children he wanted, nothing more. That was the most acceptable thing she could think of happening now, a simple existence that secured her mother's House and sisters future, if it meant giving up her freedom and body to keep her sister out of having to do the same, it was a burden she would keep to herself.

"Fifteen minutes students!"

She looked up at the shout, knowing that Madame Pince was the only one who would dare raise their voice in her library, and realising that she'd already been studying for nearly two hours now and the library would be closing soon for the evening.

Moving to collect her parchments together and return the books to the shelves she startled as she went to grab one of the books, freezing on the spot as she looked down at her left hand, specifically the fourth finger on her left hand where a simple silver ring with an ornate sapphire set into it was now sitting in place on her finger.

Sitting down quickly so she wouldn't fall at the shock she stared at the ring, her mind going empty and her feelings numb as she contemplated the ring and what it meant for her. She knew the ring of course, she'd seen it in her mothers bedroom many times, it had been passed through her family for generations now and bound to the women in her blood line, a betrothal band that couldn't be removed until it was replaced with an official bonding band during the ceremony. It had been in her mothers bedroom for the last few months after she'd removed it from the Greengrass Vaults at Gringotts with its counterpart, though now it was on her finger it very obviously meant that not only had a betrothal contract been written up, but it had been signed in blood by both sides and sealed with magic.

She was betrothed.

She tapped the ring nervously with her finger, making sure it was real and that this wasn't some nightmare, but as she felt it under her finger pressing into her skin she knew it was real.

Taking a breath she took a moment to wonder who it was that her mother had signed her away to, on the one hand it was a relief, now the only one that could touch her was the person that she was betrothed to, anyone else would face the risk of being challenged to an honour duel over the matter, but that left the problem of who it was she was betrothed to and what sort of person he was.

Gathering her belongings together quickly she forced them into her bag, ignoring her usual fastidious manner of rolling her parchments to make sure they didn't get folded or creased before grabbing the three books she'd been working from and returning them to the shelves. She now had an hour before the owlery closed for the night, which meant she could write her mother and ask for the details of the contract, including the name of her betrothed, so that she could actually approach them, if they went to Hogwarts, and discuss the matter properly with them.

The fact that the contract had been signed so fast worried her, it meant that whichever family she'd been promised to had obviously brought enough pressure against her mother for the betrothal contract to be signed before Christmas. That alone was a worrying prospect, there were only a few families she could imagine bringing that sort of pressure down on her mother, and none of them were nice prospects for her future. The other option, that her mother had actually managed to negotiate a contract outside of the darker pure blood families, was the only alternative. While it was a nice dream, it wasn't a likely scenario. It was simply that, a dream that withered and died when faced with the cruel nature of the real world.

No, it was far more likely that one of the darker families had pressured her mother into signing the betrothal contract early, and now she had little to look forward to aside from the self respect that came from the knowledge that her sacrifice would ensure Astoria's safety and freedom for the years to come.

Making sure the books were neatly back on the shelves, she secured her bag before clutching it in her hand, eyeing the elegant betrothal ring on her finger once before before setting her fact back to the blank mask she faced the world with and marching out of the library to head directly to the owlery.

* * *

 **Gryffindor Common Room**

Harry frowned to himself as he looked around the room, ever since Professor McGonagall had announced the Yule Ball last week in the Transfiguration lesson the entire school had been discussing it openly and pairing up around him. At least five, maybe six, of the Gryffindor girls in his year had already been asked and said yes, leaving him and Ron with now less than two weeks to ask a girl to the Yule Ball and for them to say yes.

"Ain't looking good is it mate?"

Harry turned as he saw Ron approaching, walking through the common room with his hands in his pockets dejectedly. "You noticed too?" He asked, still feeling a bit strange about ignoring the amount of time Ron had spent ignoring him and believing he'd been the one to put his name in The Goblet. Even though Ron had apologised after the first task, he could still see the way other people looked at him and hear their whispers behind his back.

"Can't bloody miss it can I?" Ron muttered, looking around the room. "Even Fred and George have dates already."

"Blimey," Harry whispered to himself. "Who are they going with?"

"Fred got Angelina Johnson to say she'd go with him," Ron explained with a shrug. "George wouldn't tell me."

"Why's he keeping it a secret?" Harry asked as he walked alongside Ron around the common room to the seats by the fireplace. "Is she a Slytherin?"

"George asking a Slytherin?" Ron barked out a laugh. "Nah, reckon he's just embarrassed over it. Maybe she's ugly or something." He said with a shrug as he flopped down on the couch. "Just means we've got to get in there quick though, or all the good ones will have..." He trailed off as he watched Harry sit down on the other end of the couch. "Whats that?" He asked, nodding to Harry's hand.

"Hmm?" Harry asked, not knowing what Ron was talking about as he looked down to where Ron was looking, seeing the unfamiliar ring on a finger on his left hand. "Where'd that come from?" He asked, frowning as he looked at the ornate silver band that was wrapped around his finger before reaching for it and tugging at it gently. "It's stuck!" He muttered, frowning as he did his best to force the ring off before sticking his finger in his mouth to wet it and trying to use his teeth to pull it off.

"What you two doing?"

"Harry's got a ring stuck on his finger," Ron said with a shrug as Fred and George came to the couch area, both of them flopping down to the floor by the fire in front of the couch. "Who are you taking the ball anyway?" He asked, looking at George. "Harry reckons you got a Slytherin!"

"Take a snake to the dance?" George asked in horror.

"Merlin forbid!" Fred confirmed the thought with a shudder.

"We'd never live it down!" They said in tandem with a nod.

"Who is it then?" Ron demanded while Harry still focused on trying to get the ring off of his finger.

"Not telling," George smirked up. "Where'd you get a ring stuck on your finger from anyway?" He asked, looking to Harry now and changing the subject quickly. "Just found a random ring and decided to wear it? Not very smart Harry."

"Not very smart at all Harry," Fred parroted. "Could have been charmed."

"Or cursed!" George continued.

"Or hexed!" Fred nodded.

"Or a port key!" George added.

"I didn't just try a ring on!" Harry interrupted quickly, still trying to wriggle the ring off of his finger. "Look, I don't even know where the damn thing came from alright!"

"Give it here, let's have a look then." Fred laughed, wriggling around on the floor so he could turn himself around and shuffle over to the couch properly, though his eyes went wide when he saw the ring on Harry's finger. "Here George, look at this!" He said, grabbing Harry's hand and nearly pulling him off the couch so show his brother the ring.

"Blimey, is that..."

"It is!" Fred confirmed. "Katie Bell showed me her dad's last year. Bloody hell Harry, where'd you find it?"

"I don't even know what it is!" Harry said, pulling his hand away from where the twins were still staring at the ring in awe.

"What is it?" Ron demanded impatiently.

"It's a betrothal ring," Fred and George both answered at the same time.

"Bloody old one too I reckon," Fred continued on, causing George to nod in agreement.

"Goblin made I reckon," George nodded in agreement. "Probably blood bound to the family, that's why you can't take it off."

"Makes sense," Fred nodded back. "You swear you didn't put it on?" He asked, looking to Harry with a serious face.

"I swear it!" Harry nodded firmly.

"Blimey," Fred's eyes went wide at that implication. "There's only one other way that could have got on your finger then."

"How?" Harry demanded, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach as both twins looked at him with identical smirks on their faces.

"How he asks," Fred grinned over to George.

"How indeed," George grinned back.

"It's a betrothal ring Harry," Fred said, speaking slowly like he was talking to a child. "They only appear when you're in a betrothal contract."

"Bloody hell!" Ron swore as he finally figured out what the twins were saying.

"See, even Ron's figured it out now." George laughed, smirking at Harry's frown.

"Will one of you just tell me what's going on with this ring?" Harry demanded, looking between Fred, George and Ron.

"It's a betrothal band mate," Ron said, nodding slowly. "You know, betrothal?"

"What's betrothal?" Harry asked, looking between everyone again.

"Marriage little Harry, marriage." Fred said, shaking his head with a laugh as he translated the idea into the more common 'muggle friendly' terms he'd heard before. "Means you're in a marriage contract with someone now." He explained slowly with a smirk. "Probably someone with a rich family judging by that ring."

"Definitely rich, probably one of the old Houses too, not many others that can afford goblin work like that." George added.

"Yeah, old family for sure." Fred nodded in agreement.

"Marriage?" Harry shouted. "I can't even ask a girl to the Yule Ball, how in Merlin's name am I engaged!"

"Is that what muggles call it?" Ron asked. "Engaged?"

"Yes Ron, that's what muggles call it!" Harry snapped out. "How am I engaged when I never even agreed to this!"

"Someone in your family did mate," Fred said thoughtfully. "Betrothals are blood contracts, very traditional things. Don't see them around too much anymore."

"Not outside of the Old Houses anyway," George added in. "What about Sirius? He's your godfather right? Reckon he could have done this?" He asked, looking to Fred.

"Godfather's a bit of a stretch," Fred frowned thoughtfully. "But little Harrikins doesn't have any family left." He mused to himself. "Old contracts like that are normally signed by the Lord of the family I reckon. Legal guardian stuff and all that, it's all old laws though, dunno who could have signed it for Harry though."

"Sirius wouldn't do that anyway," Harry said firmly, he knew it for sure, there's no way Sirius would sign him into a contract like this without talking to him first. "I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore about this." He said firmly.

"Ask McGonagall," Fred suggested with a shrug. "The women always know more about Bondings than men do, least that's what Katie told me." He explained.

"You believe her?" Ron asked dubiously.

"You know anything about betrothals?" Fred challenged him. "Didn't think so." He smirked when Ron shook his head. "It's a woman thing, they have it all planned out in their heads before they even come to Hogwarts anyway."

"Professor McGonagall then." Harry nodded as he stood up from the couch, glaring down at the stubborn ring in question that was still wet from his saliva. "Thanks." He said with a nod to Fred and George before dashing off out of the room to find Professor McGonagall.

"Who'd you reckon it is then?" Fred asked, turning to George with a grin.

"No clue mate," George shook his head. "Old family, rich by the sound of it." He added thoughtfully. "Probably pure blood with a goblin ring like that."

"Definitely," Fred nodded in agreement. "Can't think of anyone like that that'd want to be in a contract with Harry though."

"Ginny's going to go nuts when she hears about this!" George said with an eager grin.

"Oh too right brother of mine," Fred grinned back just as eagerly.


	3. Chapter 3

**TITLE:** Betrothed

 **DISCLAIMER:** All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine... I'm just here for the fun.

* * *

 **Professor McGonagall's office**

"Enter." Professor Minerva McGonagall called out as she heard the knock on her office door, putting down her quill for now from where she'd been marking the first years transfiguration essays. "Mr Potter, what can I do for you?" She asked, surprised to see the young man making his way into her office. "If this is about the second task, you are aware that I am unable to offer you aid in these matters."

"Um, no Professor, it's nothing to do with that." Harry said quickly, shaking his head as he closed the door behind him. "Something... Something's happened, and Fred and George said you might be able to explain it to me?"

"I see," Professor McGonagall frowned slightly, raising her eyebrow at the thought of the Weasley Twins sending Harry to her for anything. "If this is a prank young man, I shall not be impressed."

"It's not Professor, I swear it!" Harry said quickly. "Look, this just appeared on my finger earlier today and I can't get it off." He said, holding up his left hand and pointing to the ring in question. "Fred and George said..." He sighed in embarrassment before continuing on. "They said it was a betrothal ring?" He asked, hoping he got the word right.

"A betrothal band?" Professor McGonagall asked, chuckling to herself. "I highly doubt that Mr Potter. I am not aware of any students currently at Hogwarts involved in Betrothal Contracts using the third floor corridor rooms, and if there were, I would be." She said with a nod. "There hasn't been a student up there in seven years now, of that I am sure."

Harry let out a sigh of relief at that, nearly slumping down as the nerves left his body.

"More than likely it is the Weasley Twins playing a prank on you," Professor McGonagall said with a wry smile. "Come, take a seat and I will remove the ring for you."

"Thank you professor," Harry said happily, heading over to the seat Professor McGonagall had indicated for him.

"I assume this prank is related to the Yule Ball perhaps?" Professor McGonagall asked as Harry took his seat. "Have you asked someone yet Mr Potter?"

"I..." Harry flushed at the question before nodding. "I asked Cho but she's already going with Cedric." He explained, slumping a bit in the chair.

"Ah, I see." Professor McGonagall nodded, inwardly smiling at the fact Harry had asked someone outside of his own house, it would seem the spirit of School Unity had not been lost on the younger students this year. "Very well, lets remove this so you can continue with your efforts to acquire a date for the ball." She said. "Do you mind?" She asked, gesturing to Harry's hand.

"Oh, sorry Professor." Harry said quickly, shuffling forward in the chair and lifting his hand up so Professor McGonagall could see the ring properly.

"Rather good quality work for the Weasley Twins," Professor McGonagall said with a frown as she examined the ring. "They probably just enchanted an existing ring with a sticking charm." She explained.

"Oh," Harry nodded, wondering why he hadn't thought of that.

"If you'll allow me Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall smiled gently before tapping her wand to the ring. "Finite Incantatem!" She said, tapping the ring and causing it to glow slightly in response. "There, you may now remove the ring Mr Potter."

"Thank you Professor," Harry said fervently, tugging at the ring again before wriggling it around on his finger.

"Is something the matter Mr Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, watching Harry still struggling with the ring.

"Um, it's still stuck Professor," Harry admitted bashfully.

"Indeed?" Professor McGonagall asked, raising her eyebrow at that. "Very well, hold your hand up and I will discover what other enchantments the Weasley Twins have placed on the ring." She explained, rolling her eyes at the twins antics. "And I will have a long discussion with them tomorrow about enchanting rings like this." She said firmly as Harry brought his hand up again for Professor McGonagall to examine.

Harry watched for several minutes as Professor McGonagall cast various detection charms on the ring, after a few moments his attention was drawn away from the ring itself and onto Professor McGonagall's face where he could see her becoming more and more surprised and disturbed by what she was finding.

"What is it Professor?" Harry asked when he saw Professor McGonagall's eyes widen in shock in response to one of her charms.

"I feel I must apologise to you Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said quickly. "And utter five words I thought I never would utter in this office." She said in a horrified whisper. "The Weasley Twins were right." She frowned, turning back to Harry. "Please do not tell them I said that though."

"Right about what?" Harry asked, ignoring Professor McGonagall's comment as the ring on his hand was suddenly feeling ten times heavier than it had before.

"It is indeed a betrothal band Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said solemnly. "One sealed by blood if I am correct."

"What does that mean though?" Harry asked, impatient to actually get some answers now. "Fred and George said it was like being engaged?"

"A suitable analogy Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall nodded. "Not precisely correct, but close enough to what we are dealing with here." She explained. "A betrothal contract exists between two families, binding the two named on the contract to marry by a set birthday. This act would bind the two families or Houses together." She continued when she saw Harry's face following her. "I admit I am at a loss as to how you have been entered into a contract such as this though, we should speak with Professor Dumbledore about it before we go any further."

"Ok," Harry nodded quickly in agreement as Professor McGonagall stood up from her chair and he followed her out of the office, eager to actually get some answers for once.

* * *

 **Slytherin Dorm Room**

"Sweet Salazar!" Tracy Davis practically squealed as she saw Daphne walk into the room, her usual 'Ice Queen' personally was in place but to anyone who knew her as well as Tracy did it was obvious that some cracks were showing today, and a quick glance at her hand told her why.

"Shhh!" Daphne fixed her with a glare as she walked over, tossing her bag on her bed as she looked around to make sure they were alone. "I don't need everyone to know about this!" She said firmly.

"So? Who is it?" Tracy demanded as she hopped onto her bed, sitting crossed legged on the green sheets while Daphne fiddled with her bag.

"Don't know," Daphne answered easily. "I just owled mum asking who it was."

"Not Malfoy then, or Nott, or Blaise." Tracy said thoughtfully, her mind running through the obvious candidates.

"Why not?" Daphne asked, turning to look at Tracy to figure out if her best friend knew something that she didn't.

"Those three are about as subtle as a bludger to the head," Tracy laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "If anyone of them knew they'd bagged you in a bonding they'd be boasting about it all over the common room. If it was Malfoy he'd probably already have put a big flashy announcement up somewhere so everyone knew about it whether they wanted to or not."

Daphne thought about that for a moment before nodding in agreement, nobody in the common room had even noticed her as she'd walked through to the girls dorm, they were too busy fiddling around and laughing about the 'Potter Stinks' badges that Malfoy was trying to get everyone to wear, there wasn't any whispering, leering or snide comments targeting her, which meant it wasn't any of the usual loud mouthed idiots that were the regulars in the Slytherin common room.

"Zambini or Nott would have hunted you down already and made sure everyone knew you two were betrothed, can bet your last knut on that." Tracy continued on thoughtfully. "Crabbe and Goyle? Nah, they'd have bragged about it to Malfoy by now and it'd be all over the school."

"Who could it be then?" Daphne frowned in thought as she sat down on her bed and thought about it. Whoever it was would have noticed the ring appearing on their hand by now just like she had done. Their families would likely owl them about it tomorrow congratulating them on the signing of the contract, even though neither Daphne or whoever it was actually signed anything themselves.

"Can't be anyone in Slytherin," Tracy said assuredly. "None of the boys here can keep a secret like that, not when half of them have been trying to get in your knickers all term anyway." She said with a smirk.

Daphne glared back at the comment but had to concede the point, there was no way it was anyone who had approached her before, none of the people that had tried to ask her for dates had any sense of decorum or subtlety, and keeping something like this a secret while the contract was being negotiated and signed definitely indicated subtlety and discretion. "Have to wait until mum writes back then."

"No you don't!" Tracy argued back. "We've got three more houses to go through!" She said with a grin. "What about Diggory?"

"Cedric?" Daphne raised an eyebrow at that. "He's in Hufflepuff." She said thoughtfully. He was certainly handsome, he was two years above her and was the official Hogwarts champion for the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"Might be," Tracy said with a smirk. "Can't say I'd complain about being locked in a cupboard with him." She muttered with a laugh.

"Tracy!" Daphne shook her head, letting a small smile grace her lips. "Won't be Diggory," She said with a sigh. "Mum would have made sure it was an Old House, probably a rich one too."

"Not Diggory then," Tracy nodded in agreement. It was well known that Cedric's dad worked at the Ministry in the Magical Creatures department and were close with the Weasley family.

"Definitely not." Daphne confirmed.

"What about Macmillan?" Tracy asked thoughtfully.

"What is it with you and Hufflepuffs?" Daphne frowned while thinking about it. Macmillan would definitely be a candidate, though not one she'd actually thought of before. The Macmillan's were in The Sacred Twenty-Eight and went back at least nine generations. It certainly fit the criteria, though she wasn't sure about how much money the Macmillan's actually had, which while wasn't anything she was too bothered about, she knew would be one of the criteria her mother was looking for.

"He's blonde like you, not really tall though, reckon all of his family are that shot?" Tracy asked as she tried to think up other candidates in her head. Macmillan would be amusing, he was barely five foot tall, while Daphne was the tallest girl in her year and taller than most of the boys, being close to five eight already it would put her a head taller than him.

"Wouldn't know," Daphne replied with a small shrug, her mind already racing to the worst scenarios possible. As soon as the betrothal was announced, probably in The Prophet as a public announcement, they'd be given access to one of the private accommodations on the third floor, the area of the castle that was generally out of bounds to anyone who didn't have access to the private rooms there, which most years was pretty much the entire student body.

"Come on, you never know," Tracy smiled, trying to be reassuring to her friend. "Maybe it'll be a nice guy you know? It could happen?" She said, moving to sit next to Daphne on her bed and resisting the urge to hug her better.

There was a strange relationship between the two of them, Tracy Davis was a half-blood raised as a muggle after her wizard father died at the end of the last Wizarding War, a fact that pretty much all of Slytherin House was kept ignorant about. Daphne was the only one that knew about it, and likewise, Tracy knew all of Daphne's secrets, including why she shut herself down so much and forced the cold and aloof persona to the front. It was a shield, she understood that. She knew that Daphne was expecting the worst and couldn't blame her for it.

For the first year after she'd found out she'd ranted about how unfair marriage contracts were and how the women always got screwed over with them, and Daphne had just sat there with her and listened to them, every rant, every argument, everything. Then she'd explained why she had to do it, and that if she didn't then the pressure would come down on both her mother and her younger sister Astoria to be married off into pure blood families as tradition dictated. So if she could marry into a family that had enough clout to protect both her and Astoria from repercussions, then it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

That argument had taken the wind out of Tracy's sails immediately, she'd never thought that a Slytherin would be willing to sacrifice themselves like that, but for family, she could imagine many others would do exactly the same thing.

* * *

 **Professor Dumbledore's office**

"Professor!" Professor McGonagall called out as she led Harry up the stairs to Professor Dumbledore's private office, having bypassed the gargoyle with a mutter of "Mars bar" as she approached it.

"Minerva?" Professor Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, looking up from the book he was looking through. "Harry," He said, with a smile, acknowledging the young boy. "What is the problem?"

"This is the problem Professor!" Professor McGonagall explained, holding Harry's hand up for Professor Dumbledore to see. "A betrothal band Albus!"

"Surely you're mistaken," Professor Dumbledore chuckled with a gentle smile. "Harry Potter is not under a betrothal contract, I know this for certain."

"This is a betrothal band Albus, I checked it myself." Professor McGonagall argued back. "When did you first notice it?" She asked, looking to Harry.

"Just before I came to see you Professor," Harry explained quickly. "I couldn't get it off, so Fred and George..."

"Yes yes, the pranksters." Professor McGonagall nodded quickly, cutting Harry's explanation of events short. "Albus, I'm telling you, this is a betrothal band."

"Harry, have you signed anything lately, any parchments or used a red quill for anything?" Albus asked gently, standing up from his desk and walking around to face them properly. "Think my boy, this might be important."

"No professor," Harry shook his head quickly. "We had double Divination this afternoon, Herbology and Magical Creatures this morning. I haven't even touched a quill all day." He explained.

"May I see?" Professor Dumbledore asked, gesturing to the ring on Harry's left hand.

"It'd be easier if I could take the thing off," Harry grumbled, mostly to himself as he walked over and held his hand up for Professor Dumbledore to examine the ring properly.

"I'm sure it would," Professor Dumbledore chuckled before waving his wand around the ring.

"So this means I'm supposed to be engaged to someone then?" Harry asked, looking between Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. "Isn't that kind of stupid? I mean, aren't I supposed to know if I'm getting engaged?"

"Magical betrothal is not as similar to a muggle engagement as you would expect," Professor McGonagall explained simply. "A betrothal contract is generally a written agreement from two wizarding houses to join together through the act." She explained as she watched Albus examine the ring carefully. "Historically these contracts are binding, in both blood and magic, and only the head of your family could enter you into one without your knowledge."

"I don't have a head of my family," Harry said quietly.

"Indeed not," Professor McGonagall shook her head as she saw the sad look in Harry's eyes. "Which leaves me at a loss to explain this situation."

"You're certain this ring was not on your finger before today Harry?" Professor Dumbledore asked, his earlier smiling attitude gone now and replaced with a firmer stare as he looked to Harry for answers.

"A hundred percent certain." Harry said assuredly. "Professor Trelawney was going through the Palmistry text books this afternoon, so I know it wasn't there then."

"I see," Professor Dumbledore said softly, frowning in thought as he walked away from examining the band on Harry's finger, and moved over to one of his shelves where he could find the small crystal orb that was linked to the wards placed around Harry's home with The Dursley's. He didn't say anything as he reached up with his wand, tapping it gently and expecting the warm yellow glow to emanate from its center as it always did, but the orb didn't react at all to the touch of his wand, a second tap revealed as much information as the first.

Dumbledore allowed himself a brief frown before he waved his wand over the crystal orb to make sure the link to the wards was working properly, before stepping away from the shelf in shock at what he felt from the link.

"Albus, what is it?" Professor McGonagall asked quickly, seeing Professor Dumbledore more startled now than she had ever seen before.

"I'm afraid you were correct Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said softly, turning back to her and Harry. "It is indeed a betrothal band. One that has broken the binding wards protecting your home Harry." He explained, looking over to Harry to see his reaction.

"You mean the Dursley's Professor?" Harry bit out.

"Just so," Professor Dumbledore nodded slowly.

Harry simply nodded at that news, resisting the urge to smile at the idea. If the protection at Privet Drive wasn't there anymore, then maybe Professor Dumbledore wouldn't force him to go back to The Dursley's anymore and he could finally go to be with Sirius. Maybe that was one good thing that could come out of this entire mess.

"But who could it be Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking to Professor Dumbledore for answers.

"Who indeed," Professor Dumbledore mused as he walked back to his desk. "No one has approached you regarding this?" He asked, looking to Harry.

"I think I'd remember someone asking me to marry them Professor," Harry said in frustration, ruffling his already messy hair.

"Yes, quite." Dumbledore nodded, understanding Harry's frustration with the situation. "Very well, return to your friends. I will see what I can find on the nature of betrothal contracts and find out how you have been entered into one." He explained.

"What if it's like the Goblet sir?" Harry asked quickly. "Someone put my name in it without me wanting it to, could someone have done the same for this?"

"Unlikely Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall shook her head.

"I agree with Minerva," Professor Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Betrothal contracts to my knowledge can only be entered into by the signatory or the head of the household." He explained. "The band on your finger, goblin made if I don't miss my mark, is that of an Old and Noble House."

"Like the Black's?" Harry asked, remembering what he'd found when trying to research Sirius Black in the library last year.

"The Black's are a Noble and Most Ancient House indeed." Professor Dumbledore smiled softly in agreement. "The Noble houses are the only ones who could initiate a betrothal contract like this."

"Great, so how many Noble Houses are there?" Harry asked.

"Ah, that would depend on who you ask my boy," Professor Dumbledore explained with a chuckle. "It is something I will look into for you as well if you wish." He said with a smile. "But I must caution you about who you talk to about this matter," He said, looking at Harry directly now. "Depending on the nature of the contract, the penalty for breaking such may be severe."

"Severe?" Harry asked, doing his best to swallow the lump in his throat that had appeared while Professor Dumbledore had been talking.

"Yes," Professor Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Hopefully I can find a copy of this contract and we can discover who, and why you have been entered into it, and who your betrothed is."

"That's the sort of thing I'd like to know too Professor," Harry said, laughing nervously at the idea that he was effectively engaged to someone he'd never even met now.

"Very well," Professor Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at Harry. "As soon as I find anything, I will send for you." He said softly. "Return to your dorm room and I will begin my search."

"Thank you Professor," Harry nodded, fiddling with the unfamiliar ring as he looked to Professor McGonagall. "You too Professor." He said, smiling to Professor McGonagall before leaving the room.

"Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking to Professor Dumbledore. "Who could have done this to the boy?" She asked after waiting to make sure Mr Potter was down the stairs and out of earshot.

"I am uncertain," Professor Dumbledore admitted, leaning against his desk and idly playing with his beard while he concentrated on the facts at hand.

"I know the youngest Weasley had an infatuation with the boy, but I never dreamed she'd go this far." Professor McGonagall explained.

"I doubt Miss Weasley has anything to do with this Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said, shaking his head at the idea. "Molly and Arthur would never enter Harry into a contract without his permission, and that ring was certainly worth more than they would be able to spend on an item like this."

"If you're certain Albus," Professor McGonagall said with a frown, still uncertain. In her opinion if the Weasley's thought they could get Harry into their family with a move like this, she was reasonable sure she could see them undertaking it no matter the cost.

"I am," Professor Dumbledore nodded. "I will head to The Ministry tomorrow to search the Hall of Records. I am certain that this contract must be found there, and with it we can discover who has entered Harry into this betrothal and what, if anything, we can do about it."

* * *

 **Greengrass Manor**

Aurora Greengrass was simply sitting at her desk in awe at what had happened this evening, a crystal tumbler of firewisky sat next to the signed betrothal contract on her desk, untouched as she just sat there, staring at the contract as if she was waiting for it to crumble away and leave her with nothing.

Mr Potter's guardian hadn't even read the contract, hadn't demanded any concessions aside from a house for the pair of them.

She'd penned out the most neutral contract she'd ever written in her life, that was how these negotiations went. The approaching party wrote the contract out that would give them the advantage, in this case the protection for Daphne as part of the House of Potter was the primary concern, and the same protection for Astoria as Daphne's blood family. She'd then expected Mr Potter's guardian to negotiate back, with his demands in exchange for the protection of her family she knew he must see she desperately needed.

The contract she'd written had been traditional but fair, while she knew Mr Potter himself was a half-blood, she had believed his guardians would at least have had pure blood friends, after all, Mr Potter senior was a pure blood of an Old and Noble House, she'd expected the contract to be sent off to pure-blood Wizarding Lawyers to be negotiated and amended before they got anywhere near signing it in agreement.

Now the contract was signed though, sealed with family blood and magic. Once the bonding took place, the Potter and Greengrass families would merge into one House. Morgana's knickers, she'd even written in stipulations that their first born son would take the name Greengrass to keep Daphne's House from falling extinct, and it had been signed without even a raised eyebrow, something she knew for sure no other House alive today would sign a contract for.

It didn't make sense at all. Mr Dursley was a muggle obviously, but he would have known about contracts and signatures. He obviously signed the letter allowing Mr Potter to attend Hogwarts the first time, so the school must have contacted him and discussed what he needed to sign and why contracts were so important in the magical world.

No, something else was going on here. Had Mr Potter already known about Daphne's situation and asked his guardian to sign the contract to protect her? It made sense to a degree if Mr Potter was friends with Daphne at school, but how could he know she would approach Mr Dursley when she'd only looked at Mr Potter's family records today.

It didn't matter, not officially anyway. The contract was signed, Mr Potter and Daphne were now betrothed. It was just a little too easy for her liking. She got everything she could have dreamed for her daughter from it and gave up very little in return. All that she'd been asked for was to provide a house for the two of them, something that was certainly within her means to do. Though again, this concession confused her. It wasn't as if Mr Potter couldn't afford his own house, more than likely given what she'd read in the Ministry documents, he could probably afford a larger house than what she could provide for the pair of them, and when Mr Potter reached seventeen and took his title as Lord of the Old and Noble House of Potter, then all the lands and properties of the House would become available to him anyway.

There was too much that didn't add up for her liking, today had been like a gift from Morgana herself, but all she could think about was what she was missing. Daphne and Astoria would now be protected by a House that reached back to the Peverell brothers themselves, Daphne was marrying a Lord in his own right and would become Lady Potter on her seventeenth birthday, and both would be protected by House obligations by Mr Potter himself, currently a boy that had enough political clout and money to warn away even the most dedicated opponents.

She needed to make the announcement fast, to make it public knowledge that the Houses of Greengrass and Potter were to be joined. An announcement at Hogwarts was obviously first on the agenda. It would be unbecoming for Daphne to learn the name of her betrothed from another source before she'd announced it herself. She'd have to approach The Minister tomorrow and make the announcement herself at Hogwarts in the morning, that was the best course of action. Obviously Minister Fudge would be watching Hogwarts closely for the Tri-Wizard Tournament anyway, so he could join her at Hogwarts to give the necessary political weight to the announcement.

Yes, that was the respectful thing to do. The joining of her House with The House of Potter was a big enough deal to warrant an announcement from The Minister himself, so it was suitable that he was there to make the betrothal announcement with her. She'd approach him at the opening of The Ministry for the day, suitably early, and that would give them both plenty of time to travel to Hogwarts and make the announcement before morning classes started.


	4. Chapter 4

**TITLE:** Betrothed

 **DISCLAIMER:** All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine... I'm just here for the fun.

* * *

 **The Ministry of Magic**  
 **London, England**

It was just after seven in the morning when Aurora floo'd into The Ministry. Having had the best night's sleep she'd had in years. The Atrium was thankfully quiet at this hour, with only department heads and officials coming in this early, while the majority of the staff would arrive between eight and nine.

Walking through The Atrium she admired The Fountain of Magical Brethren as she walked past it, heading directly to the golden gates at the end of the hall to register her wand and reasons for visiting. It was a simple enough procedure which passed without a wait, something she was thankful of as she walked past, nodding respectfully to Mr Munch as he registered her wand and marked her as a Minister in the building, leaving her to head directly to the lifts behind the registry desks.

"Floor?"

"Level one," Aurora announced with a nod to the attendant, watching as he closed the gates to the lift and with a jerk of a lever set them in motion.

It was a rarity for her to actually head up to the highest levels of The Ministry, normally whenever she actually had business in the building, she would be heading directly to Level Five where the Department of International Magical Cooperation was found or down to Level Ten for the Wizengamot meetings. Thankfully the journey from The Atrium floor to the Administrative Level was short, with nobody else in the lift with her it was a quick and direct ride up to the ground floor of the building.

As she stepped out of the lift and onto the adminitrative level she was again thankful for the lack of people in the building so far. She walked quickly past the Office of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, having had dealings with the Madam Undersecretary before and not a single one of them had been pleasant.

Noting the lack of secretary or personal assistant at the desk outside The Minister's office, she paused for a second before tapping her wand gently on The Minister's door to announce her presence.

"Enter."

She nodded to herself as she heard the call and opened the door, walking in and bowing slightly at the hips in recognition of the position as she saw Minister Fudge.

"Mugwump Greengrass, a pleasure as always." Minister Fudge beamed happing from the bookshelf where he was looking through a file before walking to his desk and placing it down to continue with later. "Or are you here on Ministerial business?" He asked, gently moving his lime green bowler hat from his desk onto the coat rack behind him.

"Sorry, have you just arrived?" Aurora asked politely as she closed the door. "I did look for your assistant but..."

"Nonsense, come on in." Minister Fudge smiled openly, gesturing for her to come in and join him. "Always got time for our esteemed Mugwump's on the International Confederation." He said with a politicians smile. "What can I do for you this morning?" He asked, noting the various scrolls of parchment she had in her arms as she walked into the office properly.

"A notification actually," Aurora smiled as she walked over. "Last night I finalised a betrothal contract for my eldest daughter." She explained.

"Congratulations then," Minister Fudge beamed happily. "Nice to see the old families still recognising tradition, it's so important in this day to see young people understand why these traditions are in place."

"Of course," Aurora smiled, inwardly rolling her eyes at the idea. If she'd had it her way, both Daphne and Astoria would have been allowed to bond with who they wanted, not been forced into some archaic contract that dictated who they were to be bonded with. "Naturally since this is a bonding of the old houses, you are the first to be notified. I thought you would join me in giving notification at large yourself."

"I would be honoured." Minister Fudge smiled widely at the notion. Betrothal contracts between two old families were rare as it was, so announcing one would certainly get his name and picture in the Daily Prophet, and being shown to officiate over an old tradition would definitely help his image with the older Houses of the Wizengamot.

"I was thinking of flooing directly to Hogwarts if you would care? Obviously I'd like to make the announcement this morning, it would be uncouth for Daphne and her intended to find out about the betrothal from some other source before announcing it myself."

"Naturally!" Minister Fudge quickly nodded at that idea, knowing there was already a media presence at the school because of the international tournament going on there this year. "Yes, a splendid idea I think. I have a meeting at nine, but... no, I think we should announce this as soon as possible. Strike before the gossip leaks as it were." He said with a chuckle.

"Of course," Aurora smiled back. "I have the contract signed and sealed with blood and magic, actually the quickest signing I've ever had the pleasure to witness."

"Well obviously," Minister Fudge nodded over. "I'm sure the lucky lad was pleased as punch to hear he'd be joining such an esteemed family as the Greengrass line."

"Yes, naturally," Aurora faked a laugh while resisting the urge to roll her eyes at The Minister's blatant attempts at flattery. "I have the family records here if you care to look, tracing back nine hundred and..."

"A noble house I'm sure," Minister Fudge cut her off with a wave. "No no, it's obvious you're doing the best for your daughter, what witch of the world wouldn't do such a thing." He said with a smile as he collected his coat and bowler hat from the stand. "Shall we? I believe the breakfast at Hogwarts runs from eight until a quarter to nine, which gives us plenty of time to let the press know to join us for the morning's announcement."

"Um, yes, of course." Aurora nodded automatically, not having actually thought of that.

"Let us adjourn to the school then," Minister Fudge beamed, laying his coat over one arm as he put his bowler hat on before offering his arm to Aurora and leading her from the office proudly.

* * *

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

 **Highlands of Scotland**  
 **Slytherin Girls Dorm**

Daphne was already pacing when Tracy and the other girls in the dormitory woke up. She'd barely slept a wink all night, fidgeting and thinking about what today would have in store for her. Clearly her mother would have received last nights owl by now and written back to her. Mail was due at eight am each day, which meant in under an hour she would be reading a response letting her know who she had been betrothed to.

The night had been spend half staring at the betrothal band in shock, and half of it looking at the silver and sapphire band in disgust and horror. It wasn't just a band, but a chain in her mind now, binding her forever to the wizard with the matching band on his hand, and depending on what her mother had managed to negotiate with the betrothal contract, she was at minimum going to be forced into a bonding with someone, and at worst treated like a slave if the other House had put enough pressure on her mother to sign the contract.

The fact that the contract had been signed so fast didn't bode well in her mind, she couldn't think of any reason a betrothal contract would be signed so fast other than a dark house influencing and buying her mother off. Which led directly back to the thoughts of her being bonded to the worst sort of wizard imaginable.

She watched patiently as the three other girls got ready and left the dorm, leaving her alone with Tracy as she got ready. Over the years she'd never bonded with the other girls in her year, ignoring their attempts to use her to get an 'in' with the International Confederation her mother sat on. Their attempts to curry favour with her were transparent at best and offensive at worst, neither sly nor cunning, but blatant and obvious in their deception. If they couldn't even be subtle about approaching her, how could they expect her to treat them with respect if they couldn't be up front about their intentions.

"You alright?" Tracy asked from the bathroom after checking the three other girls had left and gone either to the common room or out to head up to the main hall.

"Yes," Daphne nodded firmly, taking a deep breath and composing herself for the day. She wouldn't show her nerves or how her fears were affecting her. She would show herself as her stature demanded, a witch of the Old and Noble Greengrass House, and when the letter from her mother arrived, she would read the name of her betrothed with grace and approach him directly to thank him for the honour of welcoming her into his house.

"I wouldn't be," Tracy admitted as she came out of the wash room, still drying off her face as she walked. "Morgana, I'd be wetting myself waiting to find out who it was!" She laughed, already feeling nervous for her friend.

Daphne simply acknowledged that with a shrug, it wouldn't be done to let everyone know how nervous she really was about finding out which family her mother had decided she was to be bonded to. No, she'd watch and see to see if she could catch a glimpse of the family band that matched her own on anyone's finger, but she wouldn't overtly go searching until she'd received the confirmation from her mother.

"Come on, I'm starving, breakfast time!" Tracy laughed as she finished buttoning up her school shirt and shrugged the jumper on before making sure he tie was straightened.

Daphne simply grabbed her bag double checking her wand was neatly tucked into her robed holster she followed, unable to even think about eating at a time like this, but intent on keeping up appearances if nothing else.

* * *

 **Gryffindor Boys Dorm**

Harry frowned as he watched Dean and Seamus rush out of the dorm room to head down for breakfast. Most days he'd be hot on their heels with Ron, but today he just couldn't find the energy.

He'd been up most of the night with Ron and Neville, both of them telling him stories about betrothal contracts and what they actually meant and why they were used. He was mostly sure a lot of Ron's stories about them were just stories he'd heard from Fred and George, probably just stories the twins had told him to scare him while he was growing up, but some of them Neville had confirmed as being true, like how breaking a betrothal contract could sacrifice your magic completely, leaving him no better off than a squib.

Even something as simple as kissing another girl was considered a breach of contract in some cases. Neville had told him the original betrothal contracts were drawn up by goblins hundreds of years ago, and some families hadn't even changed the contracts since those days, when witches were basically property of the wizards family after betrothal and had no more rights once the contract was signed.

Even to him the idea seemed utterly horrible, he couldn't imagine why any family would sign a contract like that basically giving away their daughter's rights, but Neville had explained that a lot of the time the contracts weren't that bad anymore and were supposed to be traditional and signified the blending of two magical families together. He'd even admitted that his nan had told him once that he was supposed to have a betrothal contract as well with the Bones family, but his parents had been attacked before they'd ever negotiated the contract properly.

"You coming mate?"

Harry shook his head for a moment, ruffling his already messy hair to clear the thoughts away before nodding to Ron and following him down. Neville was fumbling around with some botany books in his bag and would catch up with them later on anyway.

"Still thinking about it huh?" Ron asked as he led the way through the Gryffindor common room and out into the corridor.

"Yeah Ron, it's kind of a big deal." Harry snarked as he walked down the corridor alongside Ron as they headed to the main stairway.

"Sorry," Ron shrugged apologetically. "Dumbledore's looking into it though right? He'll find out what's going on."

"But Neville said he can't break the contract even if he does find it." Harry pointed out, remembering their conversation from last night. "And even if he did break the contract, it'd take away my magic for breaking it."

"Yeah," Ron nodded slowly as they started walking down the stairs. "Can see why mum hates all this old tradition stuff." He explained. "It's only the old pure blood houses that go in for stuff like that anymore."

"Great, so I'm engaged to some pure blood witch I've never even met before." Harry rolled his eyes. "Thank's Ron, making me feel a lot better here." He muttered sarcastically.

"Any ideas who it could be?" Ron asked curiously. "Must have been thinking about it right? There must be a load of pure blood witches in our year that'd want to ask you out."

"Ask me out?" Harry frowned. "I'm engaged to them apparently, it's a bit different from them asking me out."

"Well, yeah." Ron shrugged. "But at least you've got a date for the Yule Ball now right?" He commented, trying to find a light side to the whole thing. "Whoever it is, you've got to take them right?"

"I hadn't even thought about that," Harry whispered as he came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. "The ball's in a week, how am I supposed to find out who it is by then?"

"Neville reckons they'd have a band like yours probably." Ron said as he tugged on Harry's arm to keep him walking towards the great hall. "So you just have to find the witch with the matching band."

"I don't know if you've noticed Ron, but a lot of girls wear rings." Harry said, rolling his eyes as he headed into the great hall, finding Ron's comment a bit stupid but automatically looking at the hands of the witches on the Gryffindor table as he walked past, looking for any rings that could match his.

"Well, yeah, but it's got to match your one right?" Ron shrugged. "Like a matching pair sort of thing."

"It's not as if I can just walk up to every girl and ask to look at their rings," Harry explained in frustration. "Besides, won't she know who I am anyway if she's engaged to me?"

"Betrothed Harry,"

He turned around quickly at the comment, sighing in relief as he saw Fred and George had snuck up behind them and were walking to the Gryffindor tables with them. "You two got any ideas who it is?"

"Been up all night thinking," Fred nodded.

"Well, most of the night." George admitted.

"Some of it anyway." Fred smirked back as they found place where the four of them could sit together.

"Ain't got a clue," George admitted as he sat down and looking around the tables of Gryffindors.

"Not as if there's many old families left either," Fred filled in as he sat next to his twin. "Can't be any of the Gryffindor girls, we'd have heard the screaming from their dorm already." He said with a smirk.

"Brother mine makes a point," George nodded sagely. "We know it's not going to be anyone that's already been trying for you, or they'd have been waiting for you to come down from the dorm this morning." He explained.

"Not someone a Gryffindor then?" Ron frowned in confusion as he looked between the twins. "But who else would want to be bonded to Harry?"

"Who wouldn't?" Both Fred and George shot back with equal looks of shock.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, looking between the two of them.

"Not as if it's a secret you're rich Harry," George said with a smirk.

"Even if you do dress worse than our little brother," Fred continued, ignoring Ron's muffled protest.

"And you're a champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament." George added.

"Which will probably kill me," Harry rolled his eyes at the thought.

"Exactly!" Fred and George said together.

"Bonded to Harry Potter, a short and sweet time before he met his untimely end." Fred commented, talking like he was reading a Daily Prophet headline.

"They'd be famous just for that without doing anything." George explained.

"So that's what you think this all is then? Just some girl wanting me because I'm famous?" Harry asked in shock.

"Wouldn't be the first to fall for your fame," George nodded, looking at Fred as he did. Both knowing perfectly well that Ginny had fallen in love with the famous Harry Potter before she'd even met him.

"Great, so I'm engaged to some girl who only wants me because I'm supposed to be some famous hero, who's probably never spoken to me in my life." Harry groused, snatching some toast from the breakfast plates that were in the middle of the tables and dropping it onto his plate.

"Engaged, who's engaged?"

All four of the boys looked up at the voice, seeing Hermione sitting down across from them.

"Nobody," Harry said quickly, hiding his hand under the table so Hermione wouldn't see the ring on his finger. "Just something Neville was talking about last night."

"Yeah, betrothal contracts." Ron muttered, catching on to what Harry was doing.

"Ghastly things!" Hermione shook her head in disgust as she helped herself to some corn flakes before pouring milk into her bowl. "Why would anyone sign such a thing?"

"I'm sure Harry agrees with you there Hermione." Fred commented with a smirk.

"Oh yes, he most certainly does." George added with a grin.

"Well, good!" Hermione said firmly as she sprinkled some sugar on her cornflakes. "Betrothal contracts are practically medieval, it's ridiculous that people are still using them today." She argued back, happy that Harry thought they were just as ridiculous as she did. "In fact, they should..."

"What's Fudge doing here?" Ron asked, interrupting Hermione and causing the other three boys to look at where he was gesturing with his knife. "Where's Dumbledore anyway?" He asked when he noticed Professor McGonagall walking around the head table.

"Probably off looking into something, you know how busy he is." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Harry nodded emphatically, happy that Dumbledore was actually taking him seriously now and looking into something like he promised. "Who's that with him?" He asked, nodding to the woman in the pale grey robes that was sat next to Minister Fudge at the head table.

"No idea," Fred and George said together.

"She's a member of the International Confederation of Wizards," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Really, don't any of you read?" She said in a huff. "Grey robes with a silver trim, that's the robes the International Confederation wear." She explained. "Must be someone high up, probably here about the tournament." She said thoughtfully.

"Blimey," Ron whispered. "That's probably why Skeeter's here too." He said, pointing over to the side of the great hall where Rita Skeeter along with a few other people he hadn't seen before were stood obviously waiting for something.

Harry nodded in agreement, not voicing the question of what the International Confederation of Wizards actually was, as he didn't want to sound stupid when Ron, Fred and George all seemed to know what Hermione was talking about.

"Students! Students!"

Everyone at the Gryffindor table automatically fell quiet when Professor McGonagall started talking, standing at the center podium in front of the head table with Minister Fudge and the lady in the grey and silver robes.

"Students, quiet please!" Professor McGonagall said firmly, bringing any further chattering to a halt quickly. "Minister Fudge has an announcement to make." She said, making sure everyone's attention was front and center.

"Thank you Deputy Headmistress," Minister Fudge said with a smile as he stepped to the podium and exchanged places with Professor McGonagall.

"Wonder what's going..." Ron started to whisper but fell quiet quickly when he caught sight of the glare Professor McGonagall was sending his way.

"Today marks a day I have long hoped would come, though feared never would." Minister Fudge announced proudly from the podium. "In the traditions of the Ancient and Noble Houses, Mugwump Greengrass of the International Confederation of Wizards has given me the great honour by asking me to lead this traditional announcement."

There was a break as all four tables in the great hall broke into whispers at that, everyone wanting to know what traditions were being talked about and looking for anyone on their table that was a member of the noble houses to see if they knew what was going on.

"In the spirit and tradition in which it is given, it is my honour as Minister of Magic to bless this union and announce the blending of Houses through Betrothal." Minister Fudge continued, taking the scroll of parchment from the lady in grey and scrolling it open on the podium.

"Wait, is he..." Harry trailed off in shock at what was being announced, blood draining from his face as he realised what was about to be said.

"Minister, I think..."

"Not now Deputy Headmistress," Minister Fudge hissed out, fixing Professor McGonagall with a glare before turning back to where the press were eagerly creeping forward from their place against the wall and looking to him to continue. "My apologies, here they are." He chuckled good naturedly as he brought a pair of reading glasses up and set them on the bridge of his nose before turning back to the parchment.

"Harry, is he..." Ron whispered, seeing how horrified Harry was looking.

"I think he is," Fred whispered back.

"He most certainly is." George whispered with a nod, both staring in rapt attention to The Minister in ways they'd never paid attention to anything else in their lives.

"As I was saying," Minister Fudge continued. "It gives me great pleasure to announce the blending of the Noble Houses through the magical union and betrothal of Daphne Laurell Greengrass of the Old and Noble House of Greengrass and..." He paused as he looked down the parchment for the required name, not having bothered looking at the parchment before so he could get the reporters to come along without telling them if it would be a story they could headline or just one they could ignore, hoping that at least the photographs of him with Mugwump Greengrass would make the front page.

He stopped in shock as he saw the name half way down the parchment, written in blood and sealed with magic along side Daphne Greengrass' name. "Ahem, sorry." He coughed, looking between the collection of reporters who were all waiting with baited breath, then over to Mugwump Greengrass who was watching him, and then to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall who was glaring at him as he figured out why. "Daphne Laurell Greengrass and... and Harry James Potter, of the Old and Noble House of Potter." He announced after swallowing loudly.

The great hall fell silent at his announcement, Harry was paler than ever as he felt every pair of eyes on the Gryffindor table staring at him in shock. Looking around he could see the same, with practically everyone from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables staring at him as well.

The only noise was a muffled choking sound that he was sure was coming from Professor Snape at the head table, but couldn't bring himself to look up to double check in fear of turning his head so everyone could see him more.

"Miss Greengrass, Mister Potter, join me will you both." Minister Fudge said clearly, his voice carrying over the shocked silence far better than it had before his announcement.

Harry slowly stood up, feeling everyone's eyes on him as he moved. Even Hermione was staring at him in shock, while Fred and George were looking at him in awe for some reason. His shoes sounded horrifically loud and echoed through the silent hall as he walked to where Minister Fudge was waiting for him.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see someone moving from the Slytherin table, a tall girl with platinum blonde hair that was neatly pulled back in some sort of plat, from what little he could see without turning to look at her properly, the entire Slytherin table was in as much shock as the Gryffindor table was, and were all watching her like the Gryffindor's were watching him.

"Whatever I did to deserve this," Harry muttered, shaking his head in frustration at the situation as he approached the platform and Minister Fudge stepped down, reaching out and clasping his hand.

"Harry my boy, good to see you again." Minister Fudge said with a fake smile, very aware of the reporters led by Rita Skeeter that were now following Miss Greengrass as she walked over to them. "Miss Greengrass, my congratulations on your betrothal." He announced, shaking Daphne's hand and positioning her next to Harry while he stepped up on a step behind them to make sure he was positioned between and above them both clearly.

The great hall was still silent with everyone watching in shock, the spectacle of Harry in his Gryffindor red and golds next to Daphne in her green and silver, with Minister Fudge wearing a bottle green suit behind them had everyone paying attention as bulb flashes went off, capturing the moment for various magical papers and publications.

"It gives me great pleasure to bless this magical union," Minister Fudge announced loudly from behind Harry and Daphne. "The betrothal of Miss Greengrass and Mr Potter has been signed in blood and sealed with magic, as is the old traditions, and will be bonded on the days following the youngest seventeenth birthday." He announced, reading the contract for the reporters to note down the particulars. "Daphne Laurell Greengrass is from this time forth under the protection of the Old and Noble House of Potter!" He announced, causing a few more bulb flashes to go off, sending sparks and smoke into the air in the great hall.

Harry was standing there frozen on the spot, with the entire school staring at him, the shock and surprise evident on their faces, and horror on some of the Gryffindor students as the looked on and watched. Even the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students looked shocked, and they'd only been in the school just over a month, but they had obviously seen the rivalry and hatred between the Gryffindor and Slytherin students already.

"If you are betrothed in the old traditions, at this time will you please show the bands to one and all to confirm your bond." Minister Fudge said loudly, then when neither student moved he poked them both in the shoulders before leaning down. "Show your bands." He ordered firmly, though the fake smile never left his face.

With a half glance over to the girl stood next to him, Harry suddenly felt very short stood next to her as she started lifting up her left hand and holding it out for everyone to see. Following her example Harry lifted his own hand up, staring at the ring himself for a moment before holding it out next to hers.

"The bands and bonds are in place." Minister Fudge announced from behind them. "May this union of their houses be blessed by magic itself." He said with a wide smile before the reporters started taking more photos, all of them now paying rapt attention to every word he spoke, with camera flashes filling the hall every few seconds now.

"It is my pleasure to bond my eldest daughter to the Old and Noble House of Potter,"

Harry resisted the urge to spin around at the unfamiliar voice, thinking that it must obviously be the woman in the grey robes that was speaking now and was apparently Daphne's mother.

"May their union be happy and prosperous." The new voice continued. "Please join me in applauding this union and show how proud I am of the bonding." She said before she started clap, with Minister Fudge joining in quickly, then after a few seconds when he glared at Professor McGonagall she and the rest of the teachers joined in, before the students started clapping half heartedly.

"Someone kill me." Harry whispered under his breath.

"I'm dead." Daphne whispered alongside him, neither of them hearing the other as their attention was purely focused on the looks of shock and horror around the great hall.


	5. Chapter 5

**TITLE:** Betrothed

 **DISCLAIMER:** All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn't mine... I'm just here for the fun.

 **AN:** _For those reviews saying that "Vernon Dursley can't sign documents for Harry as he's not a blood relative." Yes he can... it's already established in the books that he signs official documents for Harry for Hogwarts, I'm simply expanding that as married to Petunia, he is Head of House by laws of the wizarding world, and therefore can sign official documents as Harry's legal guardian by laws of both muggle and magical Britain._

 _As for comments about the Peverell and Malfoy family ages... the Peverell Brothers were born in 1214, while we don't have a date for Hardwin Potter and Iolanthe Peverell, it's clear they can't have been born before 1250 or later. The Malfoy family dates back to Armand Malfoy who arrived in Britain and established the family line around 1066, close to 200 prior to the Potter Family being established. The Peverell family might be older than the Malfoy's, we have no dates or proof to establish a line for either the Peverell's or Malfoy's prior to coming to England, but the House of Potter was established through marriage in the twelfth century._

* * *

Harry followed Professor McGonagall away from the great hall in silence, feeling a combination of shock and anger about what had happened, while Minister Fudge and Mugwump Greengrass, as he'd heard Minister Fudge address her as, were several paces behind them and arguing in hushed tones while both jabbing at the scroll of parchment Mugwump Greengrass was carrying with her.

"Both of you, in, now." Professor McGonagall ordered, holding her office door open for Daphne and then Harry to walk through, then waiting for Minister Fudge and Mugwump Greengrass to join them.

"But Potter isn't to know any of that!" Minister Fudge hissed under his breath as he walked into the office with Mugwump Greengrass, glaring at her while Professor McGonagall closed her office door behind them.

"He needs to know now!" Mugwump Greengrass said firmly. "Or do I need to bring notification before The Confederation that you are keeping the boy's family history and documents from him?" She spat back, raising her voice now that they were all in private.

"What do I need to know?" Harry automatically demanded for the first time, looking between the two adults and biting back the urge to shout.

"I think it's time I took my leave." Minister Fudge said, fixing Mugwump Greengrass with a glare. "Where's Albus anyway?"

"At The Ministry I assume, looking for documents to explain the unannounced appearance of a betrothal band on Mr Potter's finger." Professor McGonagall said sharply, her Scottish brogue coming through and hinting at the frustration she was feeling with todays events already.

"Wonderful," Minister Fudge muttered sarcastically before walking to the office fireplace and vanishing in a mutter and burst of green flame.

"What do I need to know?" Harry demanded again, looking now to Mugwump Greengrass. "What's going on? Why am I betrothed to..." He paused, looking over at the statuesque blonde girl standing with him. "Sorry, I can't even think at the moment."

Daphne barked a laugh out at that, covering her mouth quickly when she saw the look her mother was giving her. "I'm as shocked as he is." Daphne commented, gesturing to Harry. Her 'ice queen' persona completely shattered with the shock of what had been announced. "Old and Noble House of Potter?" She asked, looking to her mother.

"Indeed," Mugwump Greengrass nodded firmly, making sure her daughter paid rapt attention. "Mr Potter's blood can be traced back to the Peverell Brothers themselves bonding the House of Potter in the twelfth century."

"Who?" Harry asked, noting that both Daphne and Professor McGonagall were both looking at him in shock at that bit of news. "Seriously, who? What's going on?" He demanded as his anger bubbled to the surface again. Now that the shock of the events was wearing off, he was dangerously close to exploding at anyone who didn't answer his questions.

"A story for another time perhaps," Professor McGonagall said after a moment. "What needs explaining first is how Mr Potter became betrothed to Miss Greengrass." She said, looking to the two students. "I assume neither of you knew anything about this?"

"I came to you as soon as I saw the ring Professor," Harry said firmly. "That's the first I even knew wizards did this sort of thing." He bit out, ignoring the fact that Professor McGonagall had waved away his question to focus on the important matter, as he wanted answers to that too.

"You didn't know?" Mugwump Greengrass asked in shock, looking over to the young man.

"Perhaps we should first ascertain who signed the betrothal contract in place of Mr Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking to Mugwump Greengrass. "May I?" She asked, looking to the scroll of parchment she was holding.

"Mr Potter's guardian signed it after negations." Mugwump Greengrass explained as she handed over the parchment, watching as Professor McGonagall scrolled it open on her desk so she could read it comfortably.

"My guardian?" Harry asked, looking between the two adults again. "The Dursley's?" He asked in disgust.

"Vernon Dursley indeed." Professor McGonagall commented, reading the signature at the bottom of the parchment. "In blood I assume?" She asked in a tired voice.

"Of course," Mugwump Greengrass nodded. "A contract quill is always used for contracts like this." She explained, wondering why she was even being asked.

"Uncle Vernon's a muggle," Harry said quickly. "He can't sign something for me like that!"

"Sadly Mr Potter, he can." Professor McGonagall said with a sigh. "Remember, he signed the letter agreeing your attendance to Hogwarts your first year. A document with less far reaching consequences than this," She said, gesturing to the betrothal contract. "But a contract nonetheless."

"Oh," Harry whispered in shock, thinking about the other times he'd had to have Uncle Vernon sign papers from Hogwarts for things like Hogsmede visits. "I... I didn't think."

"Surely your guardian knew about magical contracts and what a betrothal contract was?" Mugwump Greengrass asked, looking solely at Harry now. "These things should have been explained to him when you were growing up."

"I didn't grow up knowing anything about magic," Harry said, feeling very confused now. "The first thing I knew was when Hagrid came and told me all about it."

"Hagrid?" Mugwump Greengrass asked, looking to Professor McGonagall. "One of the approved muggle introduction professors from the school?"

"Hagrid is..." Professor McGonagall winced, wishing fervently that Albus was here to have conversations like this.

"He's the grounds keeper mum," Daphne filled in with a snort of laughter.

"The grounds keeper?" Mugwump Greengrass practically demanded, looking to Professor McGonagall now. "And he gave your guardians the books and papers about the magical world, explaining everything to them?" She asked, ignoring Professor McGonagall in favour of looking to Harry now.

"He didn't give them anything," Harry frowned, wondering why Mugwump Greengrass was asking all of this, feeling a bit strange at being angry at the woman while she was obviously angry for him now. "What's going on? Can someone explain why this ring won't come off?" He asked in frustration, tugging at the ring again.

"It won't come off until we're bonded." Daphne explained. "Didn't anyone tell you any of this?" She asked, feeling a bit sorry for the Gryffindor now. Unlike how Malfoy and everyone had described Potter as being full of himself and a know it all, she could see now that he was angry and fed up with everyone talking about things he was expected to know but didn't.

"No," Harry said firmly. "Nobody told me any of this." He practically growled.

"What about your House?" Daphne questioned, raising an immaculate blonde eyebrow towards him in curiosity.

"What house?" Harry frowned back. "I live with my Uncle Vernon," He said in disgust. "Not that I want to." He added under his breath.

"Not your house, your House." Daphne said, shaking her head at the ignorance being show. "The Old and Noble House of Potter?" She prompted him. "Hasn't anyone told you any of this?" She asked, looking to her mother and then Professor McGonagall when he shook his head.

"Mr Potter hasn't even been told about his family house?" Mugwump Greengrass demanded, gritting her teeth and turning to face Professor McGonagall now. "Why not?" She asked firmly.

"I believed he had been." Professor McGonagall answered quickly. "Mr Potter, Professor Dumbledore never spoke to you about any of this?"

"No Professor," Harry shook his head quickly as he bit out a reply. "He never mentioned houses or anything."

"I'll be getting to the bottom of this Deputy Headmistress," Mugwump Greengrass bit out before turning to Harry and softening her face. "Your guardian truly did not know any of this?" She asked, her eyes going wide at the implications now.

"Uncle Vernon hates magic," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Even if Hagrid had given him books to read, he would have burnt them instead." He explained with a shrug.

"Then..." Mugwump Greengrass whispered, her knees buckling a bit before she held onto a table to keep herself upright. "Mr Potter, it would appear I owe you and my daughter an apology and a debt I can never repay."

Harry looked confused at this, turning to Professor McGonagall and then to Daphne to see if they knew what she was talking about.

"Am I to assume you cannot break the contract then?" Professor McGonagall asked wearily, having now caught on to what Mugwump Greengrass had realised. "Oh my word." She whispered when Mugwump Greengrass shook her head.

"So... we're stuck together?" Daphne asked in a small voice, looking at Harry with wide eyes.

"It would appear so Miss Greengrass," Professor McGonagall confirmed.

"What... what does the contract say?" Daphne asked quietly, trying to get herself under control and see what sort of negotiations had actually gone into the contract they were now bound to.

"That... appears to be one of the small slivers of silver lining for you both." Professor McGonagall said, looking at the contract herself. "While I have only a passing familiarity with such contracts, this betrothal contract is by far one of the most... pleasent... for both sides I have come across."

"Oh?" Daphne asked, her eyes going wide at that. Being bound to Potter was one thing, he wasn't as abhorrent as Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe or Goyle, but her brain had completely shut down before contemplating that the contract was for bonding them together for life.

"Indeed," Professor McGonagall nodded. "Might I assume you are the architect of this contract Mugwump Greengrass?" She asked, looking across the room.

"I..." Mugwump Greengrass started then simply nodded, taking a breath before continuing. "I hated all the ones I got asking for Daphne, they were basically demands turning her into a slave." She spat out, remembering the anger she'd felt when she'd read the contract Lucius Malfoy's lawyers had sent over. "When I found out about the Old and Noble House of Potter, I wanted to make one that would protect her, not just hand Daphne over to him."

"Quite," Professor McGonagall nodded, still frowning but accepting what she was being told. "Perhaps you should talk the pair of them through these details, I am sure you can speak with far greater knowledge to these than I can attest."

Mugwump Greengrass nodded at that, looking back to Harry and Daphne. "The... The Betrothal Contract binds Daphne to the House of Potter, to be bound after Harry's seventeenth birthday." She explained. "In exchange, both Daphne and Astoria receive the full protection of the Old and Noble House of Potter."

Daphne went wide eyed at that, not thinking that her mother could ever have negotiated protection for Astoria in the deal as well.

"In exchange for a house for you both, your first born son will keep the name Greengrass to keep our family traditions." Mugwump Greengrass explained, ignoring the shocked looked on Daphne's face and the horrified look on Harry's face.

"First... first..." Harry stammered out, his anger bleeding away to embarrassment, unable to form coherent thoughts while the woman was talking about him and her daughter having children together.

"You're buying us a house?" Daphne asked in shock.

"That was..." Mugwump Greengrass sighed. "I'd believed Mr Dursley was being subtle in negotiations when I added that to the contract at his request. Though knowing now what I do, I think I misinterpreted what he meant."

"What did he say?" Harry asked in a quiet voice, knowing his Uncle Vernon was not the most subtle person in the world.

"He wanted it written in the contract that you would not return to them." Mugwump Greengrass said softly, looking away from Harry as she spoke. "I had assumed he was being shrewd and hinting that he wanted a wizarding house for the pair of you."

It was Harry's turn to go wide eyed at that, this contract quite literally meant he was never going back to The Dursley's. It was his fondest wish, a dream come true, but it had come with the price of being bonded to Daphne Greengrass, basically married to a girl he'd never even spoken to before.

Harry turned and looked at Daphne at that thought, she was a few inches taller than him already, with poker straight white blonde hair that was tied back in a plat of some sort. The Slytherin green and silver looked surprisingly good on her, and she looked at shocked as he felt, a very different look to the arrogant and hate filled Slytherin's he'd always encountered so far at the school.

"The... the standard conditions of a betrothal contract also apply." Mugwump Greengrass added in, breaking Harry out of his thoughts and pulling his attention back to her.

"Conditions?" Harry asked angrily, not liking the sound of it at all.

"Being unfaithful will constitute a breach of contract, forfeiting the magic of the unfaithful party." Mugwump Greengrass explained with a wince. "Attempting to break the contract in bad faith will... forfeit the magic of the attempting party." She added before continuing. "Physical or magical abuse will forfeit the magic of the abusing party."

Both Professor McGonagall and Daphne swung their heads around at that one, both looking shocked at what Mugwump Greengrass had just stated.

"You added that as part of the contract?" Professor McGonagall asked in shock, a look of mild awe and pride on her face as she seemed to see Mugwump Greengrass for the first time.

"I was trying to protect my daughter," Mugwump Greengrass said firmly, refusing to look at anyone in the room. "I wasn't about to let her go into a bonding where she wouldn't be protected from her Lord." She whispered, barely managing to finish before Daphne jumped forward and hugged her tightly, breaking into tears against her grey and silver robes.

"What does that mean?" Harry whispered as he shuffled over to where Professor McGonagall was stood, feeling a bit uncomfortable at seeing Daphne crying to her mother over this.

"Historically, witches bound in betrothal contracts are given no rights Mr Potter, other than the rights their Lord, husband if you will, give to them." Professor McGonagall explained in a hushed voice. "Mugwump Greengrass wrote the betrothal contract to bind her daughter to protect her, not just from outside parties, but from abuse from her husband to be as well." She explained. "You." She said, nodding to Harry.

"What?!" Harry practically shouted. "Professor... I'd never... I mean, I don't... I'd..."

"Calm yourself Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall smiled, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder reassuringly. "I know you are not the kind of man to do anything to intentionally hurt a young woman. The protection was obviously written to protect Miss Greengrass if she were entered into the contract with someone who was not as noble as you."

"Oh," Harry nodded, not having thought of it like that. "Professor... is she right? That I can't get out of this I mean?"

Professor McGonagall sighed softly, looking down at Harry. "I'm afraid not Mr Potter." She said softly. "The mistake Mugwump Greengrass made was believing Mr Dursley knew what he was signing."

"He probably did," Harry frowned. "That's why he wanted to make sure she put in the contract that I wasn't to go back there." He explained.

"Mr Potter, you have my most abject apologies." Mugwump Greengrass said, calling his attention back to her. "If... If I'd known Mr Dursley was not signing the contract in your best interests, I never would have approached him with the idea."

"We must figure out where we go from here however." Professor McGonagall said with a sigh. "It is my responsibility to inform you, as a betrothed pair, that your accommodations will be made available tonight. I will have to inform the school elves of the change in your status."

"Accommodations?" Daphne asked from next to her mother where she was neatly wiping away the tears from her eyes and recomposing herself.

"Indeed Miss Greengrass." Professor McGonagall nodded. "Family chambers for betrothed pairs are on the third floor from the grand staircase." She explained. "Separate bed chambers will be required of course." She said sternly, looking between the two of them and causing Harry to blush again.

"Yes Professor." Harry said quickly, ducking his head so the three women in the room didn't see him blush.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to give the pair a chance to talk with each other," Professor McGonagall suggested, looking to Mugwump Greengrass. "Daffy?" She asked aloud, waiting a brief second before one of the Hogwarts elves popped into existence in her office. "Please take Mr Potter and Miss Greengrass to one of the betrothed rooms on the third floor corridor, one with two bedrooms. Show them how to secure and access the room and have their belongings transferred from their dorm rooms." She said before turning back to the two students. "I will inform your professors that neither of you will be in classes today for personal reasons." She added with a small smile. "Given the events already today, I believe they will understand."

"Yes Professors," The elf nodded quickly, looking to Harry and Daphne. "Be walkings with me," The elf smiled before heading to the office door and opening it, holding it open for the two students.

"Go ahead," Mugwump Greengrass nodded to her daughter when she saw the hesitation. "I will talk with Professor McGonagall and see what I can do to... mitigate things from here." She explained.

"Yes mum," Daphne nodded before following Harry out of the door and letting the elf close the office door behind him.

* * *

Mugwump Greengrass waited a few moments after she watched her daughter close the door, gathering her thoughts together before taking a deep breath. "I didn't know." She said clearly, looking to Professor McGonagall. "How is it Mr Potter's guardians... Morgana... how is he so ignorant about his heritage?" She all but demanded, looking at Professor McGonagall sternly now.

"I... I confess I do not know," Professor McGonagall admitted. "Albus told me Mr Potter was in safe hands, I... I didn't think to question his education growing up."

"He has no idea what mantle is going to be thrust on his shoulders when he grows of age!" Mugwump Greengrass bit out. "The last heir of an Old and Noble House, and he has absolutely no clue what any of it means!" She frowned, glaring at Professor McGonagall. "What has he learnt here if he is ignorant of his entire magical history?" She demanded.

Professor McGonagall bristled at that, fixing Mugwump Greengrass with a defiant stare until she thought about what she was being told. Mr Potter obviously had no idea about his heritage, his family history, the Noble House of his parents or the responsibilities of the Wizengamot that would fall on his shoulders when he turned seventeen. All in all, Mr Potter's education, from that perspective at least, was not only sorely lacking, but woefully ignorant and damaging to the boy's prospective future.

"While I may have wronged Mr Potter unintentionally, I have not done anything that would harm him or his future." Mugwump Greengrass frowned. "It's obvious to me now that Albus Dumbledore has." She bit out in disgust. "Did you hear how he spoke of his relatives? Not only were they ignorant of our world, but actually wanting to be rid of Mr Potter himself at the soonest opportunity. I dread to think what his home life must have been like."

Professor McGonagall couldn't say a thing again, her mind was already racing as she remembered Harry telling her about his repeated requests not to go back to Privet Drive, but Albus had over ruled him every time, as she believed was proper, to send him back to his 'loving' family.

"I will tell you now Deputy Headmistress, I will take this matter to the Wizengamot next session and bring this all to light." Mugwump Greengrass bit out. "I have wronged The House of Potter, and correcting these matters is the smallest part of the penance I must pay." She said before turning and leaving the office, closing the heavy door behind her with a bang that echoed through the castle stone corridors.

* * *

 **Potter Family Room**  
 **Third Floor Corridor**

Harry and Daphne awkwardly walked into the room after the house elf Professor McGonagall had called 'Daffy' had shown him how to activate the room and claim it for his family, the ancient wooden door was now shining and new, with a family crest over the top of the door that apparently belonged to the House of Potter.

The room was surprisingly large, while not as large as the school common rooms, there was a comfortable couch, a small fire place, two other chairs, two desks, and then two archways leading off of the main room to private chambers. A large window that spread the wall between the two desks let in the morning sun and lit up the room with a warm glow.

It was a calmer room than the Gryffindor common room, with soft creams and lighter woods that were welcoming and accommodating, rather than the brash reds and golds of the Gryffindor common room, or the darker greens and silvers of the Slytherin common room.

"You're angry,"

Harry turned around at the question, no, statement. Looking at Daphne where she was stood at the far end of the room while he'd walked in to look around in awe. "No," Harry said automatically. "Wait, why did I say that?" He demanded, frowning at the word that came out of his mouth. He had every right to be angry, he... he wasn't. "Why aren't I?" He admitted, thinking about it now.

Daphne smirked at that barrage of words, holding up her hand so she could show him the ring on her finger. "It's the magic woven into the bands." She explained. "Goblin magic." She confirmed.

"The rings won't let me be angry?" Harry frowned, staring down at his ring now.

Daphne snorted at that, shaking her head. "The betrothal bands make it so we can't lie to each other." She explained. "It's a family tradition, goes back generations." She said with a small shrug.

"I can't lie?" Harry was still frowning at the ring, wondering what spell he could use to blast the thing off of his finger without hurting himself.

"You can to anyone else, just not to me." Daphne explained. "But... you're not angry?"

"No," Harry said automatically. "Ok, that's not fair." He said grumpily when he realised the ring was forcing him to tell the truth.

"It does it to me too." Daphne sighed. "I mean, I can't lie to you either." She clarified when she saw Harry looking up at her. "It's just to each other because of the bands, not to everyone. That'd be like a charmed Veritaserum band, the aurors would love that." She said with a laugh. "Why aren't you angry?" She asked, cocking her head to the side and examining him like she was seeing him for the first time.

"I'm... I think I'm just resigned to it now." Harry said as he ruffled his hair in frustration. "First the Goblet of Fire, then all the stuff with Ron, now this." He explained, looking around the room again or looking for anything he could glare at so he wouldn't glare at the girl standing with him. "That's just this year," He said with a sigh of frustration. "Nobody ever believes me anyway, it's not like anyone's actually helping me with any of this. So why bother?" He said finally, his anger bubbling to the surface again. "Ok, I'm angry now." He bit out.

Daphne laughed at his last words, shaking her head in amusement. "But not at me?" She asked hopefully.

"No," Harry said automatically before staring down at the ring again. "I already hate this." He said, poking the ring with a finger mockingly. "Your mum signed you into this just like Uncle Vernon signed me up for it. You didn't know." He said, surprising himself with what he was saying. It was the truth though, he could feel it as he said the words.

"Thanks," Daphne nodded, her respect for Harry growing as he spoke. "A lot of wizards would hate me just because it was my mum." She admitted. "As much as I hate to say it, you're a better option than a lot of the ones I had."

"Why did your mum do this?" Harry asked, ignoring the urge to look away from Daphne at her complement. "The whole contract thing, why did she set it up for you anyway?" He asked with a frown. "It's not as if you're not pretty enough to have boys lining up to ask you out." As he finished he clamped his hand over his mouth, realising what he was saying, causing Daphne to laugh at him again which made him blush more.

Deciding to take pity on him, Daphne walked slowly into the room, looking to one of the comfortable looking chairs by the fireplace before sitting down slowly in it, trying to smile reassuringly at Harry and hoping that he would take the hint to sit in one of the other chairs. "It's not like that." She explained, watching as Harry made his way to the larger couch and sat down gingerly while looking away from her. "Dad... my dad died when I was little, it's just me and my sister with mum." She explained.

"Sorry... I... I didn't know," Harry said softly.

"No reason you would have," Daphne shrugged. "I don't really talk about with the gossip girls around." She explained. "Since it's just me and Tori, we don't have anyone to keep the family going." She said quietly. "And I'm the eldest, so anyone I marry would get control of the family." She said with a sigh.

"What about your mum?" Harry asked in confusion, causing Daphne to stare at him. "What?" He asked when he caught her look. "Is this another thing I'm supposed to know but nobody told me?" He demanded, his anger coming to the surface again.

"Yes," Daphne sighed. "Sorry, I keep forgetting nobody taught you anything." She frowned in thought before continuing. "Family blood lines are passed on through the men as the Lords of the family, in the old houses anyway." She clarified for him when she saw his confused look. "Mum kept the family going as much as she could, but she's had men coming to her for years now trying to marry in and take control of the family from her." She explained. "Mum's strong enough to hold them off, politically anyway." She added. "That's why she needed to have a contract signed for me before I came of age, so nobody could hold me once I was old enough."

"Oh," Harry frowned, trying to think about it. It didn't really make sense to him, but was obviously some old pure blood tradition or something that would probably never make sense to him anyway.

"So you didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No," Harry answered automatically before spinning his head around to look at Daphne, surprised at the random question that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Why did you ask that?" He demanded.

"Because I wanted to hear it from you," Daphne said with a shrug. "Not the rumours or gossip, but the truth."

"The ring," Harry realised, looking down at the ring on his finger. "You asked because I can't lie to you." He said, looking back to Daphne and ignoring her correction of 'band'.

"Of course," Daphne smirked back. "Wouldn't you ask questions you wanted to know if someone couldn't lie to you?" She asked curiously.

Harry frowned at that, of course he would. If he knew someone couldn't lie to him, maybe he could actually get the truth from people for once instead of half truths and controlling stories designed to influence him one way or another. "Yes." He admitted.

"So there is a bit of Slytherin in there," Daphne laughed, getting comfortable in the chair while watching Harry argue with himself. He was absolutely nothing like Malfoy or Parkinson had said he was, they'd always painted Harry as an ego driven idiot who couldn't think for himself, but the Harry she was talking to was forgiving, and quiet, but angry at being controlled and fed up with being lied to. Nothing like the rumours and stories about him being Dumbledore's golden boy or the stories of The Boy Who Lived.

He was nothing like she'd imagined, he wasn't lording privilege or money over her, or staring at her body while fantasising about her, like she knew some of the boys in the Slytherin common room did whenever she was there. He was thoughtful and wanted to understand why she'd been put in the situation with him, he hadn't tried to take advantage of it or anything. It was a puzzle that didn't fit with anything she knew about him.

"What now?" Harry asked, breaking Daphne out of her thoughts. "We're... what did you call it?"

"Betrothed," Daphne said with a nod. "I'm... I'm sorry, for what mum did you know?" She said softly. "I didn't know she was going to do this and take your home away from you."

Harry snorted at that, smiling for the first time today and shocking Daphne with his snort of laughter. "You know, that's actually the one bit of good news that's making this all worth while." He said after thinking about it. "I don't have to go back." He whispered, letting that sink in for him. "Dumbledore can't make me go back."

"You... you don't mind not going back to your family?" Daphne asked, frowning at the confusing notion.

"Not at all," Harry said, shaking his head. "I'd have stayed in Hogwarts after my first year if I could, I even asked Dumbledore but he wouldn't let me." He explained with a sigh before looking down at the ring again. "I really can't lie to you can I?" He asked.

"Or me to you," Daphne confirmed with a nod. "Why didn't you want to go home?" She asked, curious now.

Harry frowned back at her, torn between looking at her and the ring on his finger. "I don't want to talk about it." He said after a few moments. "Can you just leave it?"

"If you want," Daphne nodded, inwardly making a note to find out more about Harry's home life through other means. It was obviously not the idyllic life that everyone assumed the Boy Who Lived had away from Hogwarts, filled with pampering and riches that nobody else could dream of. "Is it true you can cast a Patronus."

"Yes," Harry said automatically before staring at her again. "Stop that." He said with a frown, thankful for the change in subject but not happy that she was using his inability to lie against him.

"What?" Daphne laughed. "We might as well get to know each other right? It's obvious you're nothing like all the stories and rumours say you are, so I've got to start from scratch." She said with a shrug. "I thought that was just a rumour though," She added thoughtfully. "You can really do it?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "So, what, we should just ask each other questions all day?" He asked in confusion.

"You've got something better to do?" Daphne smirked, rolling her eyes when Harry looked away from her. "We can take it in turns, I'll ask you, then you ask me." She explained her idea, turning it into a game of sorts for Harry. "What's your favorite subject?" She asked, starting with something easy and boring to ease him into the idea.

"Does Quidditch count?" Harry asked with a small smile.

"No," Daphne laughed, shaking her head.

"Probably Defence," Harry said thoughtfully, thinking to the strange lessons he'd had so far with Professor Moody. "You?" He asked, curious now.

"Arithmancy or transfiguration." Daphne answered easily, happy that Harry was getting into the spirit now. "Who's your best friend?" She asked her next question quickly to keep things moving.

"Hermione," Harry answered automatically before frowning in thought.

"Ok, that surprised me," Daphne admitted, her eyes a bit wide at that.

"You've got a problem with Hermione?" Harry demanded quickly.

"I just thought it'd be Weasley," Daphne clarified, holding up her hands in a surrender pose, seeing Harry's anger fighting to the surface again.

"Ron..." Harry sighed, ruffling his hair again. "Ron didn't believe me when I told him I didn't put my name in the goblet, they all thought I'd done it to be famous or whatever stupid reason they were thinking of." He explained. "Hermione believed me." He said with a shrug. "Ron's apologised but... it's still weird ok?" He said softly.

Daphne nodded at that, accepting that Harry meant Ron was still a friend but he'd obviously been hurt by Ron not believing him when he needed him to. Having his friend turn on him like that must have been tough. Now she could see Harry definitely wasn't the egocentric boy strutting around Hogwarts that everyone said he was, he certainly wasn't the Golden Boy the rumours talked about him being. He was just as unsure and insecure as everyone else was, it made him more human and approachable somehow and very different from everything she'd expected.

"Go on, your turn." Daphne prompted him a bit. "What's your question?"

Harry nodded at her words before taking a minute to think about it. "Who are your friends then?" He asked, resiting the urge to cross his fingers and pray that she didn't say Malfoy.

Daphne laughed before nodding at his question and answering, taking the time to tell him about the small group of people in Slytherin she actually spoke to regularly and considered friends, rather than the people she knew were just trying to get close to her and use her for their own ends.


End file.
